In haste, the Ohio Senate has advanced Senate Joint Resolution 10, asking Ohioans statewide about what identification they should need to vote.
The constitutional amendment still needs a floor vote in the House, very likely next week, to make it onto November ballots. The Senate floor vote was 22-9.
Photo ID is required on Election Day in Ohio, and it has been since 2023, but state GOP leaders have said the law they fought to get to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk three years ago isn’t enough. They want voters to decide whether to codify existing ID requirements in the state constitution.
“Amending our constitution should never be taken lightly,” Sen. Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) testified Wednesday. “And the General Assembly won’t have the final say on the matter.”
Ohioans are the ones with the last word on how the constitution gets amended. The question likely to go before them is if photo ID should be required to vote in person, early or at the polls. Under existing law, Ohioans generally need a state driver’s license or ID card, a United States passport or passport card or a military ID to do so.
The effort does not address mail-in voting, which carries less stringent ID requirements. A small tweak, made Tuesday in a Senate committee, leaves the issue to future legislators. But a contingent on the right, including Sen. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield), has criticized the lack of stricter language.
“I guess we’re going to have to rely on the House to clean our mess a little bit,” Cutrona testified. “As it stands today, I’m a ‘no’ vote.”
All of the Democrats on the Senate floor voted against SJR 10, too, with a few introducing amendments that were shot down.
“I find it telling, how quickly this resolution has moved,” Sen. Willis Blackshear (D-Dayton) testified Wednesday. “Here we are, focused on an issue that does not exist.”
SJR 10, and the concurrent House Joint Resolution 9, were only introduced a few weeks ago but could get the final green light as soon as next week. Sixty members of the House need to vote in favor.
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