Dear John,

It’s been a roller coaster of a year. Here at VoteRiders, we hoped to be getting ready for the holidays right about now. Instead, I’m writing to tell you what’s happening in Ohio, where we’re seeing an alarming effort to restrict voting rights unfold.

Buckeye State lawmakers just sent the governor an elections overhaul bill with serious implications for eligible citizens who don’t have very specific types of voter ID.

Here’s what’s currently on the table:

• Eliminating the ability of registered voters to use a utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document to identify themselves before receiving their ballot.
  
  
• Limiting acceptable photo IDs to a current Ohio driver’s license or Ohio state ID card, a military ID, or a US Passport.
  
  
• Reducing the number of days that a voter without one of those photo IDs has to “cure” their provisional ballot from seven to four.

If it passes as is, Ohioans would be up against one of the strictest voter ID laws in the nation as soon as next year. Even some other notoriously “strict” photo ID states like Georgia and Wisconsin accept a far wider range of photo IDs.

As I told a reporter from the Cleveland Plain Dealer last week, even if Ohio makes state ID cards available for free, there will still be significant barriers to the ballot box for some citizens. 

Much of the article is behind a paywall, but here’s an excerpt:

One response among voting-rights advocates to tough voter ID requirements is to specifically invest in mobilizing voters without ID.

One group, VoteRiders, helps voters jump through the hoops of getting ID cards in the eight states it targets – Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin, according to Lauren Kunis, the group’s executive director.

Kunis said it likely would look to build an operation in Ohio if a strict photo ID law is passed here.

VoteRiders works with community partners, including homeless shelters, food banks, employment agencies and services that help ex-offenders re-enter society after being released from jail, Kunis said.

It also complements outreach efforts by elections officials to educate the public on voter ID requirements in their state.

“There are no shortcuts and it takes time,” Kunis said. “The people who are most likely to lack identification are the most marginalized in society writ large and hard to reach.”

If this bill becomes law, we’ll have our work cut out for us in Ohio helping to educate voters and assist those in need of IDs. And when state legislatures across the country reconvene early next year, we’re likely to see more restrictive voter ID bills like Ohio’s pop up in additional states.

If you don’t follow us already on social media, please give @VoteRiders a follow to keep up with the latest voter ID developments in Ohio and elsewhere in the nation.

Thank you for joining us in our efforts to make sure no citizen is prevented from casting a ballot because of voter ID laws!

Sincerely, 

Lauren Kunis

Executive Director

Follow @VoteRiders

VoteRiders is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit organization registered in the US under EIN 45-5081831.

VoteRiders
171 Pier Avenue #313
Santa Monica, CA 90405
United States 

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