A new law changing voting ID requirements makes it more challenging for out-of-state college students to vote.

House Bill 458 requires a photo ID to vote — meaning an unexpired Ohio driver’s license, a state ID card, U.S. passport or military card — so out-of-state college students must get an Ohio issued ID card if they want to vote in Ohio.

But getting an Ohio issued ID card would invalidate their driver’s license in another state.

“Out-of-state college students are really hampered by this bill because the structure of this bill and the photo ID requirements for voting in person really puts out-of-state college students between a rock and a hard place,” said ACLU Ohio Deputy Policy Director Collin Marozzi.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed HB 458, originally introduced by State Rep. Thomas Hall, R-Madison Twp. in October 2021, into law on Jan. 6 and it will go into effect on April 7. This has been called one of the most restrictive voter-ID laws in the country.

But Ohio Secretary of State’s office doesn’t see it that way.

“It’s not problematic,” said Rob Nichols, the press secretary for Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. “It’s not adding additional hurdles or anything like that.”

The new law limits counties to one ballot drop box, shortens the window to request absentee ballot to one week before the election and absentee ballots must be received four days after Election Day. The law also mandates citizenship status on IDs and excludes county-issued veterans’ identification and college IDs from the list of IDs one can use to vote.

Read the full article about Ohio House Bill 458 by Megan Henry at The 74.