Returning to college after our October break means two things: The proper beginning of the Fall semester, and elections season. Candidate signs and flyers pop up around campus just as the foliage starts coming down, and eventually, many students begin displaying “I voted” stickers all over their sweaters and laptops.
However, the Ohio General Assembly has repeatedly narrowed students’ fundamental right to vote. In April of 2023, Governor DeWine signed House Bill 458 into law, one of the nation’s most extreme voter ID bills. The legislation requires that individuals provide a valid photo ID, including a state ID, passport, or military identification card in order to vote. The vast majority of out-of-state college students don’t carry a military identification card, and acquiring an Ohio driver’s license would invalidate another state’s license. This outright prevents many out-of-state students from voting where they spend most of their year. Ohio’s flagship colleges and universities draw aspiring professionals from every state in the nation, yet the Ohio legislature prevented them from actively participating in the democracy of their new home.
Now, the General Assembly and Governor DeWine have hampered students’ ability to vote once more. In October, state legislators added over 50 additional pages to Senate Bill 293, adding to it a number of provisions limiting Ohioans’ ability to vote. It later passed through the House with supermajority approval on November 19 and was quietly signed by Governor DeWine over the holidays. Among the bill’s added provisions is language that hastens the absentee ballot deadline and automatically cancels many out-of-state voters’ registrations. Where state law had already demanded that unresolved provisional ballots be resolved, this new legislation makes a significant change in stating that uncured ballots should require Boards of Elections to cancel a registration rather than update it. The significance of this provisional ballot registration cancellation process is profound given that SB293 will impose provisional ballots on thousands more Ohioans based on inconsistent registration information.
If you are a college student intending to vote in Ohio, you must now remember the following:
• Use valid state or national identification to register to vote.
- State identification is limited to Ohio driver licenses and Ohio I.D. Cards
- National identification includes passports and military I.D.
- If you are an out-of-state student, note that a driver’s license from your home state will not be accepted
• Inconsistent address information may cause you to be flagged and moved to a provisional ballot.
- Registering to vote with an address consistent with addresses on other government documents will reduce the risk of being flagged
• If you must register to vote using a campus or dorm address, be prepared to receive a provisional ballot and cure said ballot with updated residential information
- Curing your ballot will require the same identification as registering to vote, as well as relevant clarifying documentation
Remember that SB293 has also removed the four-day grace period if you choose to cast your vote through the mail. If you’re voting by mail, your ballot must be received by your county Board of Elections by Election Day.