Ohio House and Senate endorse a constitutional amendment for voter ID
Senate President Rob McColley and House Speaker Matt Huffman announced on Wednesday that they would work to add a voter ID requirement to the state Constitution.
Among other lawmakers who supported the constitutional amendment were state Reps. Adam Bird, R-New Richmond, and Heidi Workman, R-Rootstown, and state Sens. Jane Timken, R-Jackson Township, and Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, according to a release.
“Electors shall provide identification in order to vote, in accordance with laws passed by the General Assembly,” the resolution said, according to the release.
The lawmakers acknowledged that the Ohio Revised Code already requires an American citizen to present a valid photo identification at the polls, saying that the reason why they support including the requirement in the Constitution was that other states, specifically, Hawaii and Virginia, that previously required that level of identification are now not requiring it, according to the highlights from the press conference.
“This is important for a variety of reasons,” McColley said in a release. “I think it’s important to offer the voters the opportunity to decide for themselves about whether they want to put this in the Constitution, offering it the highest possible level of protection to secure the system that they have in place, to secure the fundamental right of voting, and maintain that confidence in our election system in Ohio.”
Timken said during the press conference that “the voters want security in their elections,” adding that they “need to know that when someone goes to vote, it is the actual person who is registered to vote, and we do that by photo ID.”
“This resolution is about protecting election integrity and making sure Ohio voters feel completely confident about the voting process here in our state,” Bird said in a release. “Enshrining voter ID into the Ohio Constitution ensures that this protection is not taken away by future General Assemblies.”
Workman said that it’s “imperative” to codify the resolution “so that future generations can feel secure when taking part in the election process,” according to the Ohio House press release.
If the resolution is added to the state Constitution, an American citizen living in Ohio would be required to present “a driver’s license or state ID card issued by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, a United States passport or passport card, a United States military identification card, an Ohio National Guard card, and an identification card issued by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs,” according to a release.
As expected, left-wing voting-rights activists opposed the resolution, alleging that it is an attempt to ensure fewer people would vote, including in the upcoming 2026 general election.
“Because they are essentially proposing an amendment that changes nothing, then it can only be because they believe it will impact turnout or some other political benefit,” Common Cause Ohio Director Catherine Turcer said, according to Cleveland.com.
However, former Republican Secretary of State candidate Marcell Strbich also criticized the amendment, writing on X that it “does nothing to close the current photo ID loophole for mail-in/absentee ballots.”
“The Ohio legislature MUST 1st pass HB577 and enact it by the election, or the amendment has no teeth,” he wrote.
I discuss Ohio’s proposed photo ID constitutional ballot amendment planned for Nov’s election does NOTHING to close the current photo ID loophole for mail-in/absentee ballots.
The Ohio legislature MUST 1st pass HB577 and enact it by the election or the amendment has no teeth. pic.twitter.com/tFDmeHliqj
— Marcell Strbich (@marcellstrbich) May 20, 2026
The move follows a suggestion from Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who proposed it on Monday, and from other Republicans.
