COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Senate passed a bill Tuesday extending the amount of days military and overseas voters have to cast a ballot in the May 3 primary. Last week, the Department of Defense denied Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose's request to extend the deadline for mailing absentee ballots to military voters overseas.

Instead of pushing the primary back, the General Assembly, alternatively, is expediting the delivery of military ballots. They are also giving military and overseas voters 10 extra days, 20 days total, to get their ballots back to county boards of election.

LaRose sent Gov. Mike DeWine, Attorney General Dave Yost and the majority and minority leaders at the Statehouse a letter Monday, saying the extension is what needed to be done in order to comply with federal law.​

The original deadline was March 19 to send the ballots to overseas military members, but LaRose said he could not get the ballots out by that date.

The Senate packed the amendment into an unrelated House bill that previously dealt with banning insurance companies from discriminating against living organ donors. The Senate did that so the voting issue would be voted on.

LaRose said he is confident this move will comply with federal law.

"The federal law is clear and that is that 45 days before the election, those overseas ballots should be ready,” said LaRose. “There's a good likelihood in many counties we will exceed that. But we will do so having reached an agreement with entity of federal government who's charged with enforcing that law and that would be the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense."

The bill also had an emergency clause attached it which means it will go into effect immediately when DeWine signs the bill, instead of 90 days afterward.

The Ohio House is expected to pass the same bill Wednesday and send it to DeWine's desk.

The bill was passed to alter timelines for when voting may occur, but members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission filed responses with the Ohio Supreme Court to objections made against the congressional maps planned to be used in the election.

Three of the seven members, LaRose, Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, and House Speaker Robert Cupp, R-Lima, filed responses. Huffman and Cupp filed a joint response.

DeWine, Auditor Keith Faber, Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, and House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, did not file responses.

LaRose said the court cannot change election deadlines or adopt its own plan. Cupp and Huffman said the same, and argued the court no longer has jurisdiction over the commission. Cupp and Huffman also said the court should not do anything with the map until after the election, because the cycle is already underway.

Over the weekend, the National Redistricting Action Fund, led by former Attorney General Eric Holder, filed an objection against the congressional map the Ohio Redistricting Commission adopted last week.

The NRAF wants the new congressional map declared unconstitutional.

The GOP said the map calls for 10 Republican-safe districts, three Democratic-safe districts and two toss-up districts that lean Democratic, likely resulting in a 10-5 GOP-favored map.

That could give the GOP at least 66% of the state's representation in Congress. Republicans have only won 54% of the vote statewide the last 10 years. 

Since the map did not receive bipartisan support, it could only exist for four years.​​​

The NRAF said it wants the map thrown out. The NRAF wants to have it stopped from being used for the May 3 primary and the commission ordered to try again.

Meanwhile, Ohioans are awaiting a ruling from the Ohio Supreme Court on the legislative maps currently before them.

LaRose said the fate of the congressional and legislative maps in the May 3 primary hinges on the Ohio Supreme Court's decisions.

A second objection to the congressional maps was filed by a voters group. The League of Women Voters of Ohio filed its objection Monday night.​

Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, said both plaintiffs agreed the map was adopted to unfairly favor Republicans, however, she thought it was good for the court to hear different perspectives.

​The League said, specifically, the 15th and 1st districts involving Franklin and Hamilton counties were drawn to unduly favor the Republican Party, and the league wanted the court to tell the commission to go back to the drawing board. 

"We have these districts that are sprawling, that are really slicing and dicing neighborhoods and communities and jurisdictions,” said Miller. “And it's not really to create representation that works. It's really for the sole goal of securing partisan advantage or advantage for specific candidates."​ 

Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor said the commission has until Thursday at noon to respond to the objection.