Ohio legislators are no strangers to fearmongering and raising false alarms when it comes to our election processes. The truth can be found in the official reports from Secretary of State Frank LaRose that consistently show our state averages a 99.9 percent accuracy rate during post-election audits. However, lawmakers remain hellbent on tightening Ohio voter laws, decreasing access to the ballot for eligible voters.
This year’s election will include a statewide ballot initiative, Issue 3, which would import our existing strict photo ID laws in the Ohio Constitution. In May, Ohio Gubernatorial Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy issued an opinion piece calling for Ohio legislators to initiate a constitutional requirement for photo ID to vote. Days later, lawmakers followed suit and introduced Senate Joint Resolution 10 and House Joint Resolution 9, both adamantly opposed by the ACLU of Ohio. In just a few short weeks, legislators swiftly pushed SJR 10 through the Ohio General Assembly, putting Issue 3 before voters this November.
The ACLU of Ohio’s opposition to Issue 3 is twofold. First, Ohio already has one of the strictest voter ID laws in the country following the passage of HB 458 in 2023. Lawmakers used this legislation to shrink down the list of acceptable forms of identification to exclude non-photo ID options, such as a government-issued check or utility bill. This makes Issue 3 and the manufactured “need” to add mandatory photo ID laws to our state constitution redundant and unnecessary. What’s worse, putting these requirements in the state constitution leaves the possibility that some forms of ID could become obsolete, and thus unusable.
For example, federal military IDs are now only issued digitally, but Ohio’s Secretary of State has determined these to comply with the “card” requirement in ORC 3501.01. Conversely, digital driver licenses issued by Ohio are deemed noncompliant for voter ID purposes. Will the Secretary's discretion hold under the weight of constitutional requirement? Perhaps, perhaps not. Issue 3 requires a military “card” to be compliant. Discrepancies in allowing only some digital IDs for voting could jeopardize the use of the very IDs Issue 3 requires.
Second, our opposition stems from the fact that lawmakers’ support of Issue 3 is more about personal political agendas and party extremism than supporting Ohio’s elections. Time after time, we have witnessed the Ohio General Assembly push through legislation that hinders our election process, while paying little to no attention to improving voter access. Recent bills such as SB 293 and HB 472 sought to make drastic changes to how we vote in Ohio, including cutting down timelines for absentee ballots and adding photo ID requirements for mail-in voting. While SB 293 was signed into law, Governor DeWine vetoed HB 472 in a win for voting and privacy rights.
If lawmakers were serious about improving voter access, their time could be spent on a plethora of advancements, from expanding drop-box access and voter registration opportunities to increasing funding for Boards of Elections. The ACLU of Ohio urges lawmakers to stop wasting time on political games and, instead, focus on legislation that would benefit Ohioans.
Regardless of what happens in November, photo ID requirements will still be a key component of Ohio’s voter laws. Our elections will remain safe and secure under the rigorous and meticulous processes already in place. The ACLU of Ohio opposes Issue 3 and any effort to silence voters through enacting strict, unneeded barriers. We urge a NO vote this election.
