Gov. Ted Strickland next week plans to veto a bill that would shorten Ohio's early voting period by 15 days, but that doesn't mean voters won't have a shorter election window later this year.

Strickland and the state's top elections office, Jennifer Brunner, oppose the bill as passed by the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate, but not necessarily its content. Spokespeople for both state officials said Friday that such elections reform ought to be more thought out instead of rushed through the General Assembly in a lame-duck session.

Brunner and her office are planning a retreat for February or March to look at such elections changes, said Kevin Kidder, spokesman for the state's elections office.

"Election reform like this shouldn't be done in a condensed time period like this," Kidder said. "This is something that has to be deliberate, not rushed through."

Approximately 1.7 million people cast a ballot during the 35-day early voting period this fall, according to the Ohio Secretary of State's Office.

Shortening the early voting period from 35 days before an election to 20 days, Kidder said, is "something (Brunner) would be willing to look at in conjunction with things like having more early voting locations."

The early voting bill was sent to Strickland after the Ohio Senate passed the measure, along with 40 other so-called lame-duck bills, just before closing the session for the year in mid-December. The bill would also eliminate a window during which voters could both register and vote the same day.

Strickland has long said he would veto the bill if passed by both the Ohio House of Representatives and the state Senate. Spokeswoman Amanda Wurst said Friday that supporters and opponents of the bill both had valid concerns that the governor felt needed more time to be considered.

Among the other bills Strickland plans to veto are one that would give tax breaks for moviemakers and another that would pay bonuses to the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars out of the state's emergency budget fund.

Ohio Sen. Jimmy Stewart, R-Athens, voted in favor of the bill as a member of the House when it passed in early December. Stewart said he doesn't buy Strickland's reasons for vetoing the bill, since he will have signed numerous bills that were passed by the General Assembly in the last few weeks of the session.

Stewart said he voted for the bill because it addressed a lot of the problems voters were experiencing with early voting, like the lack of security involved with registering and voting on the same day.

"My sense was that there was a problem, it needed fixed ... and we got together and worked on this bill," Stewart said. "I would hope that we could continue to work on this (issue) this year."

Ohio Rep. Jennifer Garrison, D-Marietta, was unavailable for comment Friday. Molly Varner, Washington County Democratic Party chairwoman, expressed her opposition to shortening the early voting period.

"That window has been an opportunity for people to actually make plans and vote when it's convenient for them and that's pretty darn important," Varner said. "I also think it's very interesting that the Republicans created this and now they're trying to get rid of it."