Ohio voter ID amendment would join growing national trend if approved by voters

Ohio lawmakers are advancing a proposed constitutional amendment that would place the state’s voter identification requirements into the Ohio Constitution, joining a growing national movement to give voter ID laws additional legal protection.

Senate Joint Resolution 10 received its first hearing this week before the Ohio House General Government Committee after clearing the Ohio Senate earlier this month. Supporters say the amendment would protect Ohio’s voter ID requirements from future legislative repeal or court challenges, while placing the issue directly before voters statewide. If approved by lawmakers, the proposal would appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.

The measure would add voter identification requirements to the Ohio Constitution, largely codifying Ohio’s existing photo ID law while making it more difficult for future legislatures or courts to alter the policy.

Under current Ohio law, voters casting ballots in person must provide a valid government-issued photo ID. Voters who do not have photo identification may cast a provisional ballot and later provide identification for the ballot to be counted. The proposed amendment would also require an alternative verification method for voters with a sincere religious objection to being photographed.

Testimony presented to lawmakers showed Ohio is part of a broader national effort to place voter identification requirements into state constitutions rather than relying solely on statutory law.

According to Ballotpedia, six states currently include voter identification 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.

Between 2004 and 2025, voters considered 12 statewide ballot measures addressing voter identification requirements. Ballotpedia reported that voters approved seven of eight constitutional amendments and two of four statutory measures during that period, with the measures receiving an average of 60.3% support.

If approved by Ohio voters, SJR 10 would become the seventh state constitutional voter ID requirement. Four additional states—California, Nevada, North Carolina and Oklahoma—are expected to consider similar constitutional amendments in 2026, according to Ballotpedia.

J. Kenneth Blackwell, former Ohio secretary of state and current chairman of Secure Elections at the America First Policy Institute, told lawmakers that voter identification requirements have become standard practice in many developed democracies.

“Among the 38 member nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 34 require voters to present photo identification,” Blackwell said in testimony supporting the resolution.

Blackwell argued the amendment would provide longer-term protections for Ohio’s existing voter ID law by preventing future legislative reversals and reducing the likelihood of successful court challenges.

Blackwell pointed to Virginia’s repeal of its voter ID law in 2020 as an example of how statutory election laws can be changed when political control shifts.

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

“That was a hard-won victory, and it should be protected,” Snead said of Ohio’s current photo ID law.

Snead cited polling that he said showed 86% support for voter ID requirements among Ohio voters, including majorities across demographic groups. He also pointed to other states that have adopted constitutional voter ID requirements in recent years.

The proposal has also received support from President Donald Trump, who recently urged Ohio House Republicans to advance the resolution and place the constitutional amendment before voters.

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

Ohio lawmakers enacted a photo identification requirement for in-person voting in 2023, replacing previous rules that allowed certain non-photo documents to be used at the polls.

If approved by three-fifths of the Ohio House, the amendment would appear on the Nov. 3 ballot, allowing Ohio voters to decide whether the state’s existing voter ID requirements should receive constitutional protection.