A group of conservative Ohio lawmakers thinks it’s time the legislature pass a bill under consideration that would require voters to show a valid driver’s license or state issued photo ID before they can cast a ballot. The leader of the Ohio Christian Alliance, Chris Long, is supporting lawmakers who have pulled a discharge petition to put an existing bill in the legislature up for vote. If the majority of lawmakers sign that petition, it could force the Ohio House and Senate leaders to let lawmakers in those chambers vote for it. The bill, which would require voters to show a driver’s license or government issued id before casting a ballot, has been stalled in a legislative committee and hasn’t been brought up for a vote by the general assembly. Long says the measure is needed to prevent voter fraud, even though Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted says there were only a little more than 2 thousandths of one percent of voter fraud cases in the 2012 election.
Gary Daniels with the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio says there are many more voters who are disenfranchised right now under current voting rules. And he says photo voter id would just worsen that situation.
“The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a general scheme for photo id’s with voting. But notice that states haven’t been jumping to take advantage of the opportunity that the U.S. Supreme Court has given them. And there’s a reason for that. Because they know that voter fraud, by and large, does not exist and that putting additional barriers in front of people to vote is not the way to go about holding elections.”
Full Article: Ohio Lawmakers Want To Push Stalled Voter ID Bill | WYSO.