POLITICS

Groups sue Ohio over new election law that requires photo ID, tightens mail-in voting

Haley BeMiller
The Columbus Dispatch
A poll worker holds up voting stickers inside Christ the King School in Berwick on Election Day.
  • New law requires voters to have photo ID to vote on Election Day
  • Law limits number of drop boxes to 1 in each county
  • Law requires mail-in ballots to arrive within 4 days of Election Day instead of 10

Several groups are suing Ohio over a brand new law that will require voters to present photo ID at the polls and tighten the timeline for mail-in ballots.

Gov. Mike DeWine signed legislation Friday that would make sweeping changes to the state's election laws, including the photo ID requirement. It also limits ballot drop boxes and requires mail-in ballots to arrive within four days of the election, instead of the 10 allowed under previous law.

As part of the new ID rules, Ohioans 17 and older will be eligible to receive a free state ID card.

GOP lawmakers rushed the bill through the Legislature's lame-duck session late last year. Lawmakers and Secretary of State Frank LaRose said the changes are necessary to restore trust in the election process. But the lawsuit cast the new rules as an "an all-sides attack on the voting process" that will create challenges for voters, particularly the elderly, military voters and people of color.

The lawsuit also says the changes stem from false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election.

"By their own admission, Secretary LaRose and Governor DeWine have no justification for this harsh crackdown on voting rights," said Abha Khanna, a partner with the Democratic firm Elias Law Group. "While election fraud is virtually nonexistent in Ohio, voter suppression is, unfortunately, alive and well."

The suit was filed within hours of DeWine's signature on behalf of groups that represent teachers, retirees, veterans and people experiencing homelessness. Marc Elias, who runs the law firm, previously sued the Ohio Redistricting Commission over the 2022 legislative maps.

The suit specifically targets the photo ID requirement and changes to mail-in voting. It also highlights a new rule that gives provisional voters until four days after the election to provide missing information to election officials. Those voters could previously submit that information within seven days.

"I am shocked that Gov. DeWine – or any member of the Ohio legislature – would actively disenfranchise our men and women in uniform," said Connie Pillich, chair of the Ohio Democratic Party’s Veterans and Military Community Caucus. "But that is precisely what this bill has done."

LaRose declined to comment on pending litigation, but he cited surveys that show photo ID requirements are generally popular with most Americans. A Gallup poll conducted last year found 79% of Americans supported photo ID at the polls, including 97% of Republicans and 53% of Democrats.

"I know that Ohioans believe that you should validate who you are when you come to vote, and thankfully, the legislature put this together in a thoughtful way that makes sure that if you don't have a state-issued ID, you can get one at no charge," LaRose told reporters Monday. "Honestly, that's been my take on this from the beginning, going back to my years here in the legislature. I had opposed versions of this in the past that didn't include that provision because they said you can't require something that has a cost. Well, they fixed that."

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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