Ohio Republicans held a call to action over the weekend – urging voters to show their support for President Donald Trump by approving Issue 3.
At an event in suburban Columbus, Republicans compared Issue 3, the only statewide question on Ohio’s ballot this November, to the SAVE America Act, a federal bill that would require all Americans to prove their citizenship in order to register to vote. The federal bill, which also has a voter ID component, is Trump’s top legislative priority and is being blocked by Democrats in the U.S. Senate.
“They can’t pass the Save America Act. OK, fine,” Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou said at a pro-Issue 3 Saturday event that also featured Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and U.S. Sen. Jon Husted. “But you know what we can do in Ohio? We can pass Issue 3.”
The event highlighted the wide GOP backing for the proposed amendment. Issue 3 also has support from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, though she does not tie her stance to President Trump or the SAVE Act. Other Democrats, including those running for statewide office this fall, do not back Issue 3.
While arguments over Issue 3 might get heated – and used for political gain as GOP leaders did recently – Signal Statewide is offering a nonpartisan explainer about the issue and what voters need to know about it, including an explanation of the current voting law.
What is Issue 3?
Issue 3 is an amendment to Ohio’s state constitution, the legal document that sets up the government and is the supreme law that trumps state and local rules that conflict with it.
What would Issue 3 do?
Mainly, it would enshrine in the constitution a requirement that Ohio voters have to show a photo ID to vote in person. Issue 3 only involves voter ID and touches on no other issues, such as proof of citizenship.
Doesn’t Ohio already require voters to show an ID when voting?
Yes. Ohio has required a photo ID to vote in person since 2023, under a law signed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. As such, Issue 3 wouldn’t have any immediate effect if voters approve it.
Approving Issue 3, however, would make it harder to undo the voter-ID requirements in the future because changing the constitution requires voter approval, unlike changing a regular law.
What forms of ID are acceptable in current law and under the proposed amendment?
Like current law, Issue 3 lists seven documents as acceptable IDs for voting: an unexpired Ohio driver’s license or state ID card, a U.S. passport or passport card, a U.S. military ID card, an Ohio National Guard ID card or a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID card.
Among the notable examples of IDs that still won’t be accepted: out-of-state driver’s licenses and student IDs.
Like current law, Issue 3 also preserves an existing exemption for people with a sincere religious objection to being photographed.
Does Issue 3 require ID for mail voting?
No – even though the state’s official ballot language for Issue 3 references ID requirements for mail voting.
Voters might find this section confusing, because it seems to say Issue 3 would require that “voters who do not vote in person provide an approved form of government-issued photo identification.”
But it goes on to say that voters casting ballots by mail could provide their signature instead, as well as “one other specified unique indicator if authorized by law.”
This references how current Ohio law allows voters to provide an alternate ID – including the last four digits of their Social Security number – on the state’s official absentee ballot request form.
In other words, Issue 3 basically states that the legislature can decide whether or not to require a photo ID for voting by mail.
Didn’t lawmakers already pass ID requirements for voting by mail?
The Republican-led state legislators passed a law last June that would have required photo ID for mail voting. But the law was blocked from taking effect after Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed it. So it is not the law at this time.
How did Issue 3 get put before voters?
Republican state lawmakers voted in June to put the amendment on the ballot in a coordinated public effort that began the previous month with an op-ed by Ramaswamy, the Republican governor candidate.
Citizen groups also can put amendments up for a vote through a process that involves collecting hundreds of thousands of voter signatures, but that’s not what happened here.
So if Issue 3 won’t have any immediate effect, why did Republicans put it on the ballot?
Republicans, who have supported tougher photo ID requirements for years, argue that putting Ohio’s voter ID language in the state constitution will protect it from being repealed by future legislatures.
They point to examples like Virginia, where Democrats repealed a photo ID law in 2020 after taking control of the state government a few years before.
Why do Issue 3 supporters say it’s necessary?
They argue that putting a photo ID law in the state constitution will give it extra protection in the event it’s challenged in court.
In general, Republicans call voter ID requirements a commonsense way to secure elections with widespread support among the general public.
Ohio Republicans aren’t alone on this one. GOP-controlled state legislatures in Arizona, North Carolina and Oklahoma also have put voter ID measures on the ballot this year, according to Ballotpedia. Citizen groups put them on the ballot in California, Colorado and Nevada.
Will Issue 3 drive voter turnout?
Republicans, guided by President Trump’s calls for stricter voting laws, could use it to mobilize their voters.
In an interview with Signal Statewide following last Saturday’s event formally launching the “Yes on 3” campaign, Triantafilou, the state Republican Party chairman, acknowledged as much.
“There’s no hiding it. We think this is an issue that animates conservatives,” he said. “But really, it animates everybody. This is a 75% issue.”
Democrats argue that firing up their lagging base is the main reason Republicans put Issue 3 on the ballot.
Why do they think that?
Polling and Republican operatives have warned a significant portion of the party’s voters are demoralized as concerns remain about the rising cost of living.
There’s also an historic trend in American politics in which the party that controls the White House loses ground in the midterm elections, in part because their supporters can become complacent about lower-profile state races after their party wins the presidency.
What are the arguments against Issue 3?
There are few main sets of arguments.
Many Democrats, progressives and voting-rights advocates oppose strict voter ID laws. They say such laws can disenfranchise eligible voters. Certain groups of voters are more likely to not have valid ID, including members of racial minorities, students and elderly people.
Democratic lawmakers opposed Ohio’s voter ID law when Republicans passed it in 2023, saying the old system was secure and worked well. That system allowed voters to provide their Social Security number or a copy of a recent utility bill with their current address to prove their identity.
Democrats also have opposed new election restrictions in general, saying documented voter fraud is extremely rare.
There’s also an argument more specifically tailored against Issue 3. Critics say it needlessly locks Ohio’s current list of valid IDs into the constitution. One part of the state’s official arguments against Issue 3, written by Democratic lawmakers, says this leaves other forms of identity unusable, such as county-issued veteran IDs and digital IDs.
“Today in Ohio you can use your digital wallet to fly but not to vote. This amendment locks out future technology that will be both more secure and more available,” reads one of the official “no” arguments.
Finally, some on the political right opposed Issue 3 while it was being debated in the legislature because they argued it didn’t go far enough by not requiring ID for mail voting.
Who is backing Issue 3?
The Ohio Republican Party is effectively running the “yes” campaign for Issue 3. The state party has printed up “Yes on 3” fliers, and state party officials plan to promote the measure at all upcoming campaign stops. They’re not saying whether Republicans have set aside money for a bigger PR campaign, including TV commercials.
More broadly, Issue 3 has top-to-bottom support among the rest of the Republican Party, including the entire statewide candidate slate – including Robert Sprague, the candidate for Ohio Secretary of State – and President Trump.
While no Democratic legislators voted with Republicans to put Issue 3 on the ballot, it does have one high-profile Democratic supporter: Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee for governor.
Who opposes Issue 3?
There is not yet a group or coalition leading the official opposition to Issue 3. But the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the group representing Black state legislators, and Ohio Citizen Action, a left-leaning government watchdog group, have announced their opposition to Issue 3. Allison Russo, the Democratic candidate for Ohio Secretary of State, and Tom Pruss, the Libertarian candidate for Secretary of State, also oppose it.
A trio of Democratic state lawmakers authored the official “no” arguments – state Sen. Bill DeMora of Columbus and state Reps. Terrence Upchurch of Cleveland and Desiree Tims of Dayton.
But none of the three had heard of an official “no” campaign when they were asked by Signal Statewide.
“Much to my chagrin, since our governor candidate came out for Issue 3, I don’t see any organized opposition from the Democratic Party to oppose it,” DeMora said.
Tims also described a low-profile campaign. She said Democrats currently are saving their resources for other priorities, although she said a more robust “no” campaign might emerge.
“The ‘vote no’ campaign is pretty much going to be us talking to voters, telling them to vote no on something that’s already the law,” Tims said. “I think that it’s sad that Republicans are spending money on something that’s not an issue when they could be working on solving the high cost of electric bills.”
Ohio Democratic Party officials call voter ID settled law in Ohio. Party spokesperson Marisa Nahem said even Republicans like DeWine and Secretary of State Frank LaRose have said Ohio’s elections are secure.
“While Statehouse Republicans spend their time pushing an unnecessary ballot initiative that doesn’t change the current law, the Ohio Democratic Party will continue our work to ensure that every eligible Ohio voter is able to cast their ballot free from unnecessary barriers,” Nahem said.
