Copyright Cincinnati Post Feb 1, 2006Text of fax box follows story
COLUMBUS -- Ohioans who go to the voting booth in November for the first time must also present identification proving who they are.
The final version of an election reform bill that Gov. Bob Taft signed into law Tuesday requires voters to provide a driver's license, utility bill or other identification before casting a ballot. Current law, effective through the May primary, calls for a voter to say name and address and sign the poll book next to an image of his or her signature.
Taft's signature came within hours of the measure passing both the GOP-dominated House and Senate along party lines. Democrats argued that the ID requirements will make it harder for seniors, the poor and disabled to vote.
Tuesday was the deadline for the bill to pass so that some provisions required by federal law would take effect in time for the May 2 primary. Most other changes, including voter ID, were put off until June.
"We didn't want to have one set of rules leading up to the election and another set of rules go into effect on the day of the election," said Rep. Kevin DeWine, the Dayton-area Republican who sponsored the bill.
DeWine and Speaker Jon Husted, also from suburban Dayton, said they expect voters won't experience problems at the polls but will instead have more confidence in election security. New federal elections law requires ID for first-time voters who register by mail, they said, so Ohio is extending that to all voters.
"The integrity of the system is more important than voter convenience," DeWine said.
Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell believes poll workers will be trained in time and lines won't be longer, spokesman Carlo LoParo said.
Both House and Senate Democrats vehemently opposed the bill ever since the Senate added the ID requirements, saying it would make it harder for people to vote. Some House Democrats accused Republicans of grasping to stay in power now that ethics troubles have ensnared some GOP officeholders, giving Democrats hope to break a 14-year slump in statewide elections.
"They're saying we want fairness and honesty in the process when the fact is they want to retain power," said Rep. Steve Driehaus, a Cincinnati Democrat. "There is no way a bill that fundamentally impacts the electoral process should be dictated by one party."
Husted accused Democrats of playing partisan politics.
"We want to reform the system they want to complain about it," he said. "We want to stop the cheating, they want to keep the loopholes alive."
Neither side has produced data to support either allegation -- that there is widespread voter fraud or that ID requirements suppress the vote.
Text of fax box follows:
Ohio election requirements
Some highlights of the election changes:
Voters must show identification at the polls to cast a regular ballot. Accepted forms include a current driver's license (even if the address has changed), military ID, passport, utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck, and other government documents with name and address.
Those who don't have ID may cast a provisional ballot, which is set aside and counted only after elections officials verify the person is a registered voter.
Elections officials must mail notices of elections, polling places and new ID requirements at least 60 days before the August and November elections this year and 2008 primary and general elections.
The attorney general and secretary of state may not act as treasurer or in an official capacity for ballot initiatives.
Credit: Associated Press
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