What you need to know to vote in Ohio
In addition to the voter purge law, the state of Ohio also has voter ID laws that residents need to be aware of in order to cast a ballot.
When a voter enters the polling station, they must state their full name and address to the poll worker and present a valid form of identification. According to state law, a voter must also present a valid driver’s license or state identification card; military identification card; a photo ID issued by the government; or an original document or a copy of a bill, paycheck, bank statement, or another government-issued form. If the voter does not have these documents, they must inform the election worker of their driver’s license/state ID number, or the last four digits of their social security number. You can then cast a provisional ballot, but your vote will not be counted until the board of elections verifies your information. If you cannot provide an acceptable form of identification or your ID/social security number, you will still be allowed to cast a ballot on that day. But you will be required to return to the board of elections within the next seven days with an acceptable form of identification in order for your vote to count.
History of Voter ID in Ohio
In 2006, the state of Ohio enacted its first voter ID law as a means of “making elections safer”. The law intended to make certain that fraudulent votes could not be cast by creating a particularly strict set of rules and regulations that decide who gets to cast a ballot and who doesn’t.
Current Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted has made his thoughts on voter fraud clear throughout his time in office.
The policies his office has upheld have actually made it harder to vote. Husted has a long track record of voter suppression that includes the infamous recent Supreme Court case Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute in which his office was forced to defend the state’s purge law.
When advocating for voter ID in Ohio, Jon Husted and the state board of elections said that the law would help eradicate voter fraud in the state. Husted mentioned the fact that 141 elections in the state had been decided by just one vote. He said that this is proof that the state needs to be vigilant when it comes to protecting election outcomes. But there is more to be said about the need to protect voting rights in conjunction with assuring that all elections are contested fairly.
The law was heavily criticized by an advocacy group in 2014 for unfairly targeting the state’s minority, homeless, and low-income populations. Despite many legal challenges against voter ID and voter purge in Ohio, the laws have still stood under Jon Husted and the Republican-controlled legislature.
Future of Voter ID laws in Ohio
Ohio Republicans have always been strong proponents of voter ID laws while Democrats have almost universally opposed the laws since their conception. As the battle for the Supreme Court and opposition to Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination continues on, state elections are essential to voting rights. While progressives are fighting the nomination of Kavanaugh tooth and nail, his past record of voter suppression is troublesome.
State races are just as important as congressional races and need to be treated with the same level of importance.
While Republicans are likely to retain control of the state legislature, the race to replace Jon Husted as Secretary of State is particularly interesting. Democrat Kathleen Clyde has said she would end Ohio’s voter purge law if elected to the office. Predictably, Republican candidate Frank LaRose said he would not reverse the policy. As a current member of the Ohio House of Representatives, Clyde’s vote has been crucial in protecting voting rights in the state. In law school, she focused specifically on voting laws and advocated against the many instances of suppression that had befallen the United States at that time. It is crucial for voting rights in Ohio that Clyde gets elected this November. She would be the antithesis of Jon Husted and the Republican Party as Secretary of State and create meaningful change in Ohio.
Republicans currently control both the state senate and house. The deep red state has been controlled by Republicans at every level of state government since 2011. The state’s term limits will prevent 20 incumbent representatives from running in 2018. This doesn’t necessarily point to a sure-fire victory on other side but it can lead to change if Democrats get out to vote in the midterms.
Democrats have not held a majority in the Ohio House of Representatives since 2010. But that doesn’t mean that a victory is completely out of the question this election season. There are nine counties that voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 but switched Republican in 2016. While a myriad of conflicting factors led to this development, it is a sign that parts of the state are not as conservative as may commonly be believed.
If you are a resident of Ohio’s 12th District, remember to vote on August 7th in the special election race between Democrat Danny O’Connor and Republican Troy Balderson. The two are vying to replace Patrick Tiberi who resigned from Congress in late January to take a position with the Ohio Business Roundtable. The winner of the August 7 election will serve out the remainder of Tiberi’s term which terminates at the end of this year. O’Connor and Balderson will face each other again in November to determine who gets elected with the new Congress that will be sworn in on January 3, 2019.
