A constitutional amendment to require photo identification for in-person voting in Ohio passed easily on Tuesday.
Issue 3, the only one on the statewide ballot, passed by a 2-1 margin.
Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) was among the Republicans who backed the amendment over objections from minority Democrats who noted voter photo ID was already put into state law in 2022, that voter impersonation is essentially nonexistent and that it would add burdens to voters without adding protections.
“Since we've had photo ID, voter participation has gone up," Stewart said in an interview in September. "So voter ID is common sense and it is not in any way inhibiting people's ability to vote.”
Some Republicans had raised concerns that the amendment left out mail-in voters. So backers of the amendment added in provisions to House Bill 472, which would require absentee voters to have photo ID proof starting in November 2027. Democrats called the amendments unneeded and unwanted.
