Ohio’s new election law is said to be among the strictest in the nation. When Gov. Mike DeWine signed the legislation into law in January, he said it was intended to help improve “voter integrity.” This move is creating hurdles for students on college campuses across the state and making waves in what is expected to be an incredibly contentious election year.
The new law introduced major changes that pose challenges for students who aren’t permanent residents of Ohio. Among the new changes, the law requires a state-issued photo ID to be able to vote here.
Students at public universities in Ohio could previously vote with their student ID card if it met certain criteria, according to Aaron Ockerman, the executive director of the Ohio Association of Election Officials. However, under the new law, if students get an Ohio-issued ID they are required to give up their ID issued in their home state, he said.
Out-of-state students like Kent State University senior marketing major Juliana Buonaiuto, a native of New York, are left in a difficult situation. When Buonaiuto came to Kent in 2020, she wanted to vote here but couldn’t.
“I wanted my vote to count where I was living,” Buonaiuto told The Washington Post. Buonaiuto says she ended up voting in New York due to more absentee voting options in her home state. She says she will do so again this year because she doesn’t want to relinquish her New York ID.
“A lot of the out-of-state college students don’t want to get an Ohio driver’s license or an Ohio-issued photo ID because it would then impact their driving privileges back in their home state where they’re very likely to return,” Ockerman said in the Washington Post article. “So, they kind of get caught in this catch-22 where they’re required to have this current valid Ohio driver’s license or identification.”
“In a state of nearly 12 million people, Ohio has more than 600,000 college students, making them a potentially important constituency — if they vote,” he said.
The Kent State Undergraduate Gtudent Government passed a resolution condemning the changes and urging a repeal.
“We personally feel like it is a hurdle for students and that it suppresses voting rights for students and dilutes the youth vote,” said Buonaiuto in the Washington Post article.
Buonaiuto, who is president of the undergraduate student body, is working with other members of the student government to educate students about how to vote in Ohio, which she said “could be confusing even before the latest changes.”
The Presidential Primary Election will take place on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. The voter registration deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 20.
Read the full Washington Post article featuring Buonaiuto’s comments.