Popular Articles
Today Week Month Year


Federal judge upholds Ohio law requiring photo ID at polling booths
By Richard Brown // Jul 12, 2024

A federal judge has upheld Ohio's strict voter ID law, including its photo ID requirement, deeming it constitutional and rejecting a challenge brought by a Democratic law firm.

Senior District Judge Donald Nugent of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, appointed in 1995 by former President Bill Clinton, ruled that photo ID requirement "imposes no more than a minimal burden, if any, for the vast majority of voters."

The complaint, filed by the Elias Law Group on behalf of groups representing military veterans, teachers, retirees and the homeless, argued that the law imposed “needless and discriminatory burdens” on voting rights. (Related: Biden administration opposes bill that would require PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP for voting in federal elections.)

However, Nugent dismissed these claims, including those against the law's restrictions on drop boxes and tightened deadlines for absentee and provisional ballots.

Nugent asserted that voters do not have a constitutional right to access mail-in or early voting options. He highlighted that Ohio's schedule for obtaining and submitting absentee ballots remains more accommodating than those in 30 other states.

Additionally, he refuted the argument that limiting ballot drop boxes to one location negatively impacts voters, noting that this provision, implemented by the GOP-controlled legislature after extensive debate, was first used in 2023.

Before the 2020 election, Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose's order establishing the single-box restriction faced criticism from three different courts as unreasonable and arbitrary.

We are building the infrastructure of human freedom and empowering people to be informed, healthy and aware. Explore our decentralized, peer-to-peer, uncensorable Brighteon.io free speech platform here. Learn about our free, downloadable generative AI tools at Brighteon.AI. Every purchase at HealthRangerStore.com helps fund our efforts to build and share more tools for empowering humanity with knowledge and abundance.

Democrats and voting rights organizations had advocated for multiple drop boxes, especially in densely populated counties, to facilitate voting during the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

A 2020 lawsuit led to a state appellate court ruling that LaRose could increase the number of drop boxes without legislative approval, though he was not required to do so.

The 2023 law formalized the single-box restriction, and Nugent stated that opponents failed to make a persuasive case against it.

Ohio Republicans working to require more Ohioans to provide photo ID to vote

Republicans in the state's House of Representatives are looking to build on this election integrity victory with House Bill 472, which will require Ohioans who register to vote, request mail-in ballots and show up to the polls to provide valid government-issued IDs.

Currently, state regulations only require Ohioans to provide valid government IDs when showing up at the polls. H.B. 472 would extend that and would also require a photocopy of IDs with completed ballots.

"And so we're trying to figure out how to correct the process early-on so that we're actually verifying that someone is an eligible elector before we're putting that into the large database," said State Rep. Bernie Willis (R-Springfield).

Among other proposals, Willis and state Republicans are also demanding new laws and amendments to existing electoral laws to include provisions allowing hand-counted ballots and new voting machine requirements that would force counties to replace outdated and potentially insecure voting machines.

H.B. 472 would also require cybersecurity reviews of new voting machines and prohibit voting machines from being connected to wider telecommunications networks, making them nearly invulnerable to hacking.

"Technology is rapidly evolving, which means that our systems must be constantly updated to prevent bad actors from threatening our elections," said bill co-sponsor State Rep. Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green).

Watch this video discussing how more and more states are requiring photo ID to vote.

This video is from the Red Voice Media channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Tennessee state secretary asks thousands of voters for proof of citizenship ahead of November elections.

49 U.S. states now supplying ILLEGALS with voter registration forms.

Indiana and Mississippi SUED over online age verification laws.

Minnesota passes law allowing all voters to join permanent ABSENTEE VOTING list.

Millions of people in 3 crucial swing states have registered to vote without photo ID this year, warn observers.

Sources include:

ConservativeBrief.com

SpectrumNews1.com

OhioCapitalJournal.com

Brighteon.com



Take Action:
Support NewsTarget by linking to this article from your website.
Permalink to this article:
Copy
Embed article link:
Copy
Reprinting this article:
Non-commercial use is permitted with credit to NewsTarget.com (including a clickable link).
Please contact us for more information.
Free Email Alerts
Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more.

NewsTarget.com © 2022 All Rights Reserved. All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. NewsTarget.com is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. NewsTarget.com assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published on this site. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.

This site uses cookies
News Target uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy.
Learn More
Close
Get 100% real, uncensored news delivered straight to your inbox
You can unsubscribe at any time. Your email privacy is completely protected.