DeMora Condemns Passage of S.J.R. 10

Today, state Senator DeMora (D-Columbus) issued the following statement after Republicans in the Ohio Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution 10, which would put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that requires Ohioans to present photo ID to vote, despite Ohio law already requiring voters to do so.

“Senate Joint Resolution 10 is a purely political, poorly written resolution meant to help the struggling Republican gubernatorial nominee,” said DeMora. “There are no protections in the resolution, there is no future proofing for when biometric and virtual IDs become safer, and there are no provisions protecting access to provisional ballots and free IDs. It is completely ridiculous!”

Democrats offered amendments that would have expanded the list of acceptable photo ID; required the state to provide free state IDs and support for accessing the documents needed to obtain such ID; allowed same-day voter registration; and restored the provisional ballot protection that was removed in the substitute version. All of these amendments were tabled.

S.J.R. 10 or H.J.R. 9, companion legislation in the House, must pass each chamber with a three-fifths vote by August 5 to get on the ballot this November. 

S.J.R. 10 now heads to the Ohio House for consideration.