Ohio photo ID may be required to vote

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

COLUMBUS — The Ohio General Assembly approved a sweeping elections bill this week that includes a strict ID requirement for voters and now, it awaits the signature of Governor Mike DeWine.

The passage of House Bill 458 was hardly unanimous, 55-32. It will require registered voters to show a valid photo ID when voting in-person, either early or on Election Day. If signed by Governor DeWine, it will replace current Ohio law, which gives voters the option of showing alternate forms of identification, such as a current utility bill, bank statement or paycheck with their current address.

The bill also includes a provision requiring the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles to issue free state identification cards to those who request them.

DeWine hasn’t indicated if or when he’ll sign it, but it becomes law, the change would go into effect during the May, 2023 primary election.

“I’m not going to comment on anything today on anything I’m going to veto, and we’ll take a look,” DeWine told reporters on Thursday.

The Ohio League of Women Voters issued a statement calling on DeWine to veto the bill.

“This legislation will make voting unnecessarily harder for seniors, students, those in rural areas, active duty military, and other eligible Ohioans,” OLWV President Jean Miller said. “As a result, voters will face longer voting lines and Boards of Elections will have more administrative burdens, without adding any real benefits to our electoral system.”

House Bill 458 also includes several other changes, including a measure that would all but end August special elections, and ends early in-person voting the day before Election Day. It also says county boards of elections can offer a single drop box for completed absentee ballots and it changes the deadline to apply for an absentee ballot to seven days before Election Day, compared to the current deadline of three days.

In addition, it would cut the grace period for late-arriving absentee ballots from 10 days to four days.