DeWine Oks photo ID requirement, other election restrictions

Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed a package of election law changes Friday including the state’s first photo identification requirement and shortened windows after election day for returning and curing ballots. Governor DeWine claimed in a statement that the new laws will positively influence election security. Among the various election changes, the new laws will also prohibit curbside voting for all citizens without a disability and limit drop boxes to one per county, which must be located on the local board of elections property. Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters, along with voting rights, civil rights, labor and environmental groups, expressed dismay with the governor over the new law’s passage. In a statement Ms. Walters said that, “Ohio Republicans know that their out-of-touch agenda and anti-worker policies are betraying Ohio voters, and they don’t want to be held accountable… So they’re further rigging the rules in their favor and pushing one of the worst anti-voter bills in the entire country all so that they can keep lining the pockets of their corporate donors and leave working families in Ohio out to dry.”



 

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