State officials have finalized the language voters will see on the ballot this November when they decide whether to add Ohio’s existing voter ID requirement to the state constitution.
The Ohio Ballot Board approved the ballot language for Issue 3, the measure’s official name, during a meeting at the Statehouse on Monday. The vote was 4-1, with Democratic state Sen. Bill DeMora joining the board’s Republican members, including Secretary of State Frank LaRose, in approving the language.
For instance, the ballot language’s title describes Issue 3 as requiring “voters to present photo identification in order to vote.” The approved language also includes four bullet points that describe what the amendment does.
The seemingly banal process of writing and approving ballot language for proposed state constitutional amendments has been a major political battleground in Ohio in recent years. That’s because research has shown voters can be swayed by ballot language, since many only learn about a proposed ballot issue when they show up to vote.
Democrats accused Republicans of writing biased ballot language intended to defeat a citizen-proposed abortion-rights amendment that voters approved in 2023, and have said the language Republicans wrote for a redistricting reform amendment in 2024 contributed to its defeat.
But on Monday, the discussion around Issue 3 was relatively muted.
Democrats pushed for minor technical revisions to the language and an accompanying issue summary. Republicans accepted two of them – including adding the word “unexpired” to a section describing Ohio driver licenses and Ohio state IDs as acceptable forms of government ID.
Republicans also agreed to add the phrase “one of the specific types of government‑issued photo identification listed” to a section with the official explanation of Issue 3 describing how voters could only present certain types of photo IDs.
What is Ohio Issue 3?
Issue 3 would add Ohio’s existing voter ID requirement, which has been in place since 2023, to the state constitution. It would result in no immediate changes to Ohio’s voting laws, but it would make it harder for lawmakers to change or repeal the voter ID requirement in the future. Doing so would require another statewide vote.
Notably, the amendment would not change Ohio’s rules for mail-in voting. Voters casting mail ballots, also known as absentee ballots, would still be exempt from the photo ID law, and instead would continue to be allowed to provide an alternative form of ID, such as the last four digits of their Social Security number.
For in-person voting, Issue 3 provides a list of acceptable government-issued photo IDs for voting that matches Ohio’s existing rules.
In-person voters are required to provide an Ohio driver’s license or Ohio state photo ID, a U.S. passport or passport card, or a military ID issued by the Ohio National Guard, the U.S. military or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
While Issue 3 would have no immediate effect, Republicans say it’s still necessary to strengthen the state’s hypothetical legal defense of its existing law, if a group were to challenge it in court at some point in the future. They also say it would prevent Democrats from ignoring or repealing it in the future, although Democrats haven’t controlled the state legislature in nearly 50 years.
More generally, Republicans call voter ID requirements a common-sense measure that polling consistently shows has broad public support, including among most Democratic voters.
Democrats, meanwhile, call the amendment unnecessary and describe it as an attempt by Republicans to mobilize their voters in what’s expected to be a favorable national political climate for Democrats. Democrats previously voted against the voter ID law that Republicans passed in 2023.
DeMora told reporters on Monday he voted for the ballot language because Republicans accepted his suggested changes.
State Rep. Terrence Upchurch, a Cleveland Democrat, said he voted against the ballot language because he thinks it will confuse voters. Republicans rejected Upchurch’s push to add the word “only” to the list of accepted government-issued IDs.
Upchurch and DeMora both said they oppose the amendment itself, and would campaign against it.
Even though it wouldn’t immediately change Ohio’s photo ID law for mail-in voting, Issue 3 contains language specifying that lawmakers could change that in the future.
Republican lawmakers passed a bill adding photo ID requirements for mail voting in June, but it was vetoed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who described the bill as rushed and unnecessary.
What happens next?
On Monday, ballot board members also discussed the process of writing the official arguments for and against Issue 3. These arguments will be available at state polling places and on the Secretary of State’s website.
LaRose said Republican legislative leaders have picked a group of GOP lawmakers to write the pro-Issue 3 arguments while Democratic lawmakers will write the arguments against it.
The arguments must be approved by Aug. 17.
