As early voting is well underway in Ohio, the Board of Elections reminds voters to bring a form of identification to the polls.
The law in Ohio requires that every voter upon appearing at the polling place to vote on Election Day, must announce his or her full name and current address and provide proof of identity.
By requiring voters to show proof of identification it helps ensure election integrity.
“This is a basic requirement to help ensure the integrity of elections. All Americans who are eligible should have the opportunity to vote, but their ballots should not be stolen or diluted by fraudulent votes. The vast majority of Americans of all racial and ethnic backgrounds support such common-sense election reform. Voter ID can significantly defeat and deter impersonation fraud at the polls, voting under fictitious names or in the names of dead voters, double-voting by individuals registered in more than one state, and voting by individuals who are in the United States illegally,” Han Von Spakovsky of The Heritage Foundation said.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose says that Ohioans deserve to have confidence and faith in their election system. LaRose has implemented numerous security protocols to keep Ohio elections safe and proper voter identification is one of them.
“This is a responsibility I take very seriously because this quite simply is about defending democracy,” LaRose said.
Acceptable identification includes:
A current and valid photo identification (i.e. Ohio driver’s license, state ID card, government ID). Photo identification must include the voters name and address (does not need to be current address for driver’s license or state id card); or
A military identification that shows the voters name name, but not necessarily their address; or
A copy of a current utility bill (including cell phone bill), bank statement, paycheck, government check, or another government document that shows a voters name and current address (including from a public college or university).
Ohio law provides that voters can not use a notice that the board of elections has mailed to them as proof of identification. Voters who do not provide one of the acceptable identification documents will still be permitted to vote on election day by provisional ballot.
As of Tuesday, Ohio had 135,889 ballots cast early in-person, a 69% increase from 2018.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected].”
Photo “Election Poll Worker” by Governor Tom Wolf. CC BY 2.0.
