DeMora Condemns Legislation to Require Voter ID for Mail-in Voting

Today, state Senator Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) condemned the passage of House Bill 472, which was amended at the last minute to require mail-in voters to send a photocopy of their ID in the mail or upload it to a portal when requesting their ballot, putting vulnerable personal information at risk and creating greater barriers to voting by mail. 

“The substitute bill introduced by the Republicans hijacked a good bill to help the homeless and indigent, turning it into a partisan voter suppression bill with an unfunded mandate that will disenfranchise tens of thousands of Ohioans, especially seniors,” said DeMora. “This poorly drafted, poorly thought-out bill was crammed through committee at the last possible moment to appease the right-wing base, but it will hurt Ohioans of both political parties. It would be comical if it weren’t so harmful.”                                               

House Bill 472 was originally a bipartisan bill to help Ohioans experiencing homelessness get free identifying documents like birth certificates or state IDs. 

House Bill 472 passed the Senate 23-10 and now heads to the Ohio House of Representatives for a final concurrence vote.