Ohio voter ID amendment heads to November ballot as supporters point to broad public backing

Ohio voters will decide this November whether to place the state’s voter identification requirements into the Ohio Constitution after lawmakers gave final approval to a proposed constitutional amendment this week.

The vote comes as supporters cite polling showing broad bipartisan support for voter ID requirements and as several other states have adopted similar constitutional voter ID requirements.

The Ohio House voted Wednesday to approve Senate Joint Resolution 10, sending the measure to the Nov. 3 statewide ballot. If approved by voters, the amendment would place Ohio’s existing voter identification requirements into the state constitution, making them more difficult for future legislatures or courts to alter.

Current Ohio law requires voters casting ballots in person to provide a valid government-issued photo identification. Voters who do not have photo identification may cast a provisional ballot and later provide identification for the ballot to be counted. The amendment would also preserve accommodations for voters with sincere religious objections to being photographed.

House Speaker Matt Huffman said the measure is intended to strengthen confidence in Ohio’s election system.

“Protecting the integrity of our elections is essential to democracy,” Huffman said in a statement following the vote. “As a legislative body, we are committed to strengthening Ohio’s elections, which includes requiring voter ID.”

Supporters argue that placing the requirement in the constitution would provide longer-term protection than statutory law alone.

Supporters also point to recent polling commissioned by Honest Elections Project Action showing broad support for voter identification requirements among Ohio voters.

The survey found 86% of likely Ohio voters said voters should be required to show a photo ID when casting a ballot, including 99% of Republicans, 90% of independents and 69% of Democrats. The poll also found 76% of likely voters said they would support a constitutional amendment requiring photo identification for in-person voting.

The survey was conducted May 27 through June 2 among 800 likely Ohio voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.46 percentage points.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy also praised lawmakers for sending the amendment to voters.

“Photo ID requirements to vote are common-sense measures, and I’m confident that Ohio voters will support the constitutional amendment by a wide margin in November,” Ramaswamy said in a statement.

The vote follows testimony presented to lawmakers earlier this month showing Ohio would join a growing number of states that have constitutional voter identification requirements.

According to Ballotpedia, six states currently include voter ID requirements in their constitutions: Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina and Wisconsin. Voters approved each of those constitutional amendments with between 55% and 79% support.

Ohio would become the seventh state with a constitutional voter ID requirement if voters approve the amendment this fall.

Between 2004 and 2025, voters considered 12 statewide ballot measures involving voter identification requirements. Ballotpedia reported that seven of eight constitutional amendments were approved during that period.

Jason Snead, executive director of Honest Elections Project Action, said the amendment would allow Ohio voters to decide whether the state’s voter ID requirements should receive constitutional protection.

“Voter ID is a popular and commonsense policy that protects elections from fraud and illegal voting,” Snead said in a statement following the House vote.

The amendment does not create a new voter identification system. Instead, it would place Ohio’s existing voter ID requirements into the constitution while preserving current accommodations for provisional ballots and religious objections.

If approved by voters in November, Ohio would become the seventh state to place voter identification requirements directly into its constitution, joining a growing national trend supporters say helps safeguard election laws from future legislative or judicial changes.