By staff and JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press
COLUMBUS – Ohioans head to polling locations Tuesday to cast ballots in the first election held under new, stricter rules passed by the Republican-led General Assembly and signed by GOP Gov. Mike DeWine in January.
Polls are open until 7:30 p.m.
Among the new regulations are a requirement that all voters casting ballots in person show a valid photo ID — an Ohio driver’s license or state-issued ID. Other acceptable forms of identification include state-issued veterans’ ID or a U.S. passport.
The head of the group Disability Rights Ohio, says the new ID requirements create barriers for the approximately 25% of the state’s population with some form of disability since many of them do not have valid driver’s licenses, ID’s or passports and will find it difficult to get them.
“All of those can potentially require having to go someplace to get something, And, for people with disabilities, transportation is a huge barrier,” Kerstin Soberg said.
Disability Rights Ohio is Ohio’s Protection and Advocacy system and Client Assistance Program for people with disabilities.
The group’s voter hotline (800) 282-9181 will be operating during polling hours.
The state Bureau of Motor Vehicles requires applicants to provide more information about their current address and legal residence status in order to get driver’s licenses and state identification cards under federal Real ID regulations.
GOP election officials’ split-screen
While promoting their states’ elections as fair and secure, Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose and his counterparts in West Virginia and Missouri are navigating a fine line on how to address election fraud conspiracies as they gear up campaigns for higher office.
LaRose is considering a U.S. Senate run in 2024.
The split-screen messaging shows just how deeply election lies have burrowed into the Republican Party, where more than half of voters believe Democrat Joe Biden was not legitimately elected president. Even election officials who tout running clean elections at home are routinely pushing for more voting restrictions and additional scrutiny on the process as they prepare to face GOP primary voters next year.
All three withdrew their states last month from the Electronic Registration Information Center, a bipartisan, multistate effort to ensure accurate voter lists. LaRose did so less than a month after calling the group “one of the best fraud-fighting tools that we have” and vowing to maintain Ohio’s membership. He defied backlash against the organization stoked by former President Donald Trump before relenting.
The three also have supported increased voter restrictions in their states — part of a national trend for Republicans that they say is intend to boost public confidence. Those bills impose new voter ID requirements, shrink windows for processing ballots or ease the ability to consolidate voting precincts.
When he unveiled legislation in February aimed at standardizing election data, LaRose said it was all about providing transparency so voters would “have confidence in knowing that when the election is over, that the true voice of the people was heard.”
A couple weeks later, he was sitting on an elections panel titled “They Stole It From Us Legally” at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.
LaRose’s spokesperson said the panel was renamed at the last minute, but the secretary used the opportunity to promote the integrity of Ohio elections.
“Voter fraud is exceedingly rare in Ohio because we take election security very seriously, aggressively pursue those who commit it and refer the potential crime to the attorney general and county prosecutors,” Rob Nichols said.