Ohio’s New Voter ID Laws, the Latest Act of Voter Suppression
Amongst other states with voter suppression legislation in the country, a new Ohio law may tighten voter ID requirements across the state. Senate Bill 320, sponsored by Sen. Theresa Gavarone (R-Huron), would only allow voters to cast a ballot by presenting a state photo identification card issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). The bill would also require the ID to have the exact address where you currently live. Gavarone says, “We want Ohio to be the gold standard in election integrity and that we’re doing the right thing.” SB 320 will create a number of new hoops for voters to jump through and is a direct act of voter suppression. While the bill was just introduced, it is possible it can go into effect before the election this November.
Currently, Ohio voters have several options regarding what to present as a voter ID. Acceptable forms of “nontraditional” IDs include utility bills, paychecks, military ID, bank statements, or “other government documents” that include your current name and address (for example, transcripts, court documents, or tax bills) that the voter has received within 12 months of the election. The extension of what a voter ID is allowed for folks who otherwise cannot obtain a state-issued ID is to be still heard. While Republicans see it as “dangerous” to have so many options, few voters are even taking advantage of using these nontraditional IDs.
The implementation of Senate Bill 320 disenfranchises the already minuscule number of voters who rely on one of these IDs to be eligible to vote. According to the Secretary of State’s data, there are approximately 8 million registered voters in Ohio. Cuyahoga County makes up 875,000 of those voters, and only half of 1% of voters used these nontraditional forms of ID to vote this past November, according to the County’s Board of Elections office.
The proposed bill comes on the heels of false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. However, the bill is unnecessary, as there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the USA. Bills like this are written to solve a nonexistent problem, and all they do is further voter suppression. Ohio state data reported that 0.0005% of the nearly 6 million votes in the 2020 election were fraudulent, and it was caught.
The GOP is making the argument of election security while impacting voter accessibility. Gavarone describes the issue of not having a photo on nontraditional IDs as a reason for the creation. Gavarone said, “A utility bill — it doesn’t have your picture on it, and you can go in and use that as ID to vote,” she said. “So this says you’re going to have a photo ID so people can match you up and make sure that you are the person you say you are. We’re making it harder to cheat.” Again, there was no evidence or instances of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. There is no need for this type of legislation.
Collin Marozzi of the ACLU of Ohio quotes, “It does seem to be another step in this very troubling trend we’ve seen across the country where legislatures are moving to make it more difficult to vote in a number of different ways.” Having to list your current address will significantly impact several voters, not to mention the issue of being able to access the BMV. For example, students who live in off-campus housing or apartments at college, older adults who no longer drive, active duty military, and troops overseas are among many groups who the new requirements will impact.
Additionally, voters would need to be able to get to the BMV to obtain the ID. Transportation will be the obvious barrier to a large portion of the state. Similarly, folks will also have to provide the necessary documentation to get the ID, which some don’t have. The law will add more hoops to the voting process, overall making it more difficult for folks to be able to cast a ballot. Getting to the BMV, with all the proper paperwork and documentation, waiting for it to come, renewing the ID when it expires, keeping up with an address and name changes, etc. The current system shows no widespread issues, no widespread issues of voter fraud; therefore, it is a solution searching for a problem that does not currently exist.
Rideshare2Vote acknowledges how Ohio SB 320 and the countless other voter suppression laws across the country will impact voters. So join us this May while we drive up the democratic voter turnout across 6 areas of the state of Ohio. We will be driving voters to the polls to elect democratic leaders who understand how important it is to vote no on bills like SB 320. It does not need to be harder to cast a ballot. Join us as we put Wheels Under Democracy.
by Heather Tingley
