In a mad dash before summer recess, Ohio lawmakers ratified a resolution Wednesday to ask Ohioans this November whether voter ID should be in their state constitution.
And the GOP-majority legislature concurrently advanced major, related modifications of mail-in voting to an unrelated bill, , originally meant to get homeless Ohioans identification cards.
HB 472 still needs Gov. Mike DeWine鈥檚 signature. DeWine has not said whether he will sign it.
鈥淭he consistent refrain from the small minority that opposes this common sense requirement is this will be too costly for individuals with low or no income or will somehow suppress the vote,鈥� Rep. Heidi Workman (R-Rootstown) said Wednesday night. 鈥淭hese arguments could not be further from the truth.鈥�
Photo ID is already required for early voting and on Election Day, and it has been since 2023, but the Ohio GOP has said the law they fought to get to DeWine three years ago isn鈥檛 enough. They want voters to decide whether to codify some of the 2023 statute.
Ohioans get the last word on how the constitution gets amended. They generally need a state driver鈥檚 license or ID card, a United States passport or passport card, or a military ID, and this would make that harder to change.
But did not address the current, more lenient ID requirements to vote by mail. That frustrated some conservative members, which led to last-minute amendments to HB 472.
Under them, and under most circumstances, absentee voters will need photo ID proof starting in November 2027, too. Democrats called the amendments unneeded and unwanted.
鈥淧hoto ID is already the law in Ohio. This legislation is not about free and fair elections, it is about making voting harder for the very Ohioans who already face the greatest barriers,鈥� Rep. Veronica Sims (D-Akron) said Wednesday night. 鈥淎 bill that began as a way to remove barriers should not end as a bill that creates new ones.鈥�
The entire effort came within one month of gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy calling for constitutionally required photo ID proof. And it got President Donald Trump鈥檚 attention earlier this week, who urged the Ohio House GOP to get it onto the November ballot. 鈥淚 will be watching,鈥� Trump said Monday night on Truth Social.
The Pew Research Center that more than 80% of Americans in 2025 were pro-photo ID.