M.D. Kittle writes for the Federalist about an interesting new poll involving election integrity in the Buckeye State.
Ohio voters could decide in November whether they want to enshrine its photo ID law into the state constitution. A new poll suggests the voter verification protection is very popular in the Buckeye State — as it is throughout the country.
Last week, Ohio’s Republican-controlled state Senate easily passed (22-9) a joint resolution that would send a constitutional amendment ballot question to voters. Every Democrat voted against the measure.
The resolution now moves to the GOP-led House, where it must pass with a three-fifths majority. Republicans have the votes, but some conservatives want to see photo ID for absentee ballots enshrined in Ohio’s constitution as well. That likely will have to be a battle for a different day.
Ohio’s photo ID law went into effect in 2023. The Buckeye State is among 10 states that exclusively require individuals to show photo ID to vote in elections, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Wisconsin voters last year overwhelmingly approved enshrining photo ID at the polls in their state constitution.
Following Wednesday’s vote, Ohio Senate President Rob McColley told reporters that he expects the ballot question will receive overwhelming support, asserting it’s “the type of protection that voters want to see in the system.”
They sure do.
Over the weekend, Honest Elections Project Action released a poll that found 86 percent of likely Ohio voters surveyed believe that photo ID should be required to vote at the polls. It’s a bipartisan issue, with photo ID backed by 99 percent of Republicans polled, 90 percent of independents, and 69 percent of Democrats.
And the poll found 76 percent of respondents would vote for a constitutional amendment requiring voters to show photo ID — 54 percent strongly in favor.
