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Help! Help! Voter Suppression!*

evil fizz

*A Get Fuzzy quote, used only half in jest

UPDATED: So I voted this morning with my passport and a bank statement. No one batted an eye. So much for my confrontation with poll workers.

So I have been poking around online, reading about candidates and ballot measures for tomorrow’s elections. (I’m voting in Ohio.) There’s lots of stupidity in terms of ballot measures, particularly issues 4 and 5, which are smoking initiatives. (The measure called “Smoke Less Ohio” would actually repeal existing smoking bans. Go figure.)

The real problem I’m having here, though, is with the new identification requirements, and it’s pissing me off. I have three different sources of information, all of which conflict with what counts as suitable identification. I’ve moved since the last election, but only around the corner from my old place, which is still on file with the board of elections. (I’m still in exactly the same district for everything and it’s still the same polling place.) I am now feeling stupid for not having updated my registration, because I cannot for the life of me figure out whether I can still vote on a regular ballot or whether I have to cast a provisional ballot or what.

This is the relevant statute…

NOTICE TO ALL VOTERS
R.C. 3503.28(A)(1)(6)
Voters must bring identification to the polls in order to verify identity. Identification may include a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter´s name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than this reminder or a voter registration notification, that shows the voter´s name and current address. Voters who do not provide one of these documents will still be able to vote by providing the last four digits of the voter´s social security number and by casting a provisional ballot. Voters who do not have any of the above forms of identification, including a social security number, will still be able to vote by signing an affirmation swearing to the voter´s identity under penalty of election falsification and by casting a provisional ballot.

So does that mean I can just show my passport and that’s sufficient? I honestly have no idea, as passports are never mentioned. The mailer from the board of elections talks about Ohio drivers licenses (which I don’t have). I am going to be really irritated if I show up tomorrow at the proper polling place with a valid form of ID and am prohibited from casting a regular ballot. Anyone have any brilliant ideas?

16 thoughts on Help! Help! Voter Suppression!*

  1. In Illinois you would bring your passport and something, a bill or bank statement, with your current address on it.

  2. Looks to me like your passport would qualify as an “other government document…that shows the voter’s name and current address,” as long as it has your current address, right?

  3. This seems to suggest that a passport is not ok but that an old ID with a different address should be ok. They also list a hotline: 1 866 587-8683. (That’s 1 866 OURVOTE, for people who don’t find those spelled-out numbers annoying.) I’d give them a call.

  4. Will I need an ID to Vote?
    Yes. Every voter will be required to provide proof of identity before voting. The form of identification that you may use includes your current and valid photo identification card, military identification, copy of utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check, or government document showing your name and current address. (Note: You cannot use as proof of identification a notice that the board of elections mailed to you.) If you do not have, or fail or refuse to provide, the required proof of identity, you may cast a provisional ballot.

    Anyone can find their state’s ID requirements on this website.

    http://www.canivote.org/

  5. My reading of the thing that Donna Darko linked to is that you weren’t required to re-register, because you didn’t move to another precinct. I would bring a current utility bill and see if they’ll accept that. But you should probably call that 1866 number above and see what they have to say. (It’s staffed by lawyer and law students, and they should be able to help you negotiate with election judges if they wrongly challenge you.)

  6. Hi, evil fizz, I’m also in Ohio and my understanding (although it may vary from one county to another) is that you cannot use government ID if it doesn’t have your current address on it. If your passport doesn’t have your current address on it, don’t use it. Instead bring a utility bill or something with your current address on it to prove you live there (because of course no one could just take that out of your mailbox). What they need is proof that you currently live at the address you’ll give them, or that they have on record for you.

  7. What they need is proof that you currently live at the address you’ll give them, or that they have on record for you.

    Yeah, and this is where my confusion comes from. (Also, the statute says the point is to verify identity…what is my passport if not proof of identity?)

    *sigh*

  9. I know that when I moved to the neighboring precinct (in Ohio), I was told to vote in my new precinct, even though I hadn’t updated my address, but that I would have to cast a provisional ballot. I’m guessing if you don’t have anything with your old address on it (an old utility bill, maybe?) but only pieces of ID with your current address, you’ll have to cast a provisional ballot even though you’re in the same precinct, which is utterly insane. You can also vote absentee at the BOE, which at least gives you a paper trail, but I’m not sure if you can do that on Election Day or not.

    Also, the ID requirements do vary tremendously between counties. I’d check your county’s BOE page to see what’s valid where you live.

  12. If I interpreted my board of elections page correctly, I’ll have to bring proof of address with me when I vote after work today, even though I was able to vote in the primary without such proof. Why is identification so much more important for a full election than a primary?

    I also find it interesting that I’ll have to do this for a pretty low-key midterm election (MA), whereas I first voted in a swing state (OR) during the 2004 presidential election by mail–without ever providing identification or proof of residency.

  13. It’s simple:

    Teacher — “Will those of you who are playing in the match this afternoon move your clothes down onto the lower peg immediately after lunch before you write your letter home if you’re not getting your haircut unless you’ve got a younger brother who is going out this weekend as the guest of another boy, in which case collect his note before lunch, put it in your letter after you’ve had your haircut and make sure he moves your clothes down to the lower peg for you.”

    Student — “My younger brother is going out with Dibble this weekend but since I’m not having my haircut today, sir, do I move my clothes down to the lower peg?”

    Teacher (irritable) — “I do wish you’d listen, this is perfectly simple. If you’re not getting your haircut you don’t have to move your brother’s coat down to the lower peg, you simply collect his note before lunch after you’ve done your script. When you’ve written your letter home, before rest, move your own clothes down to the lower peg, greet the visitors and report to Mr. Binding that you’ve had your chick sired.”

  14. (Also, the statute says the point is to verify identity…what is my passport if not proof of identity?)

    Well… looking at my passport… unless it has changed since I got it (pre-9/11) the address section requires that you keep your personal address info up-to-date yourself. It even says to use a pencil in mine.

    So… it’s proof of identity but not of residence.

  15. This is a League of Pissed Off Voters email I got today.

    ALERT! Please forward widely!

    Voters in several precincts in Franklin County are being told by pollworkers that they have to vote a provisional ballot if the address on their driver’s license does not match their address in the pollbooks.

    THIS IS INCORRECT.

    You may still vote a regular ballot even if the address on your license doesn’t match the address in the pollbooks.

    If you are told you must vote a provisional ballot, call 866-OUR-VOTE before you agree to vote provisionally.

    We have also heard reports that voters who are being made to vote provisionally are not being told it’s a provisional ballot they are casting. You will know it’s a provisional ballot if they have you fill out a form before voting. With a regular ballot, all you do is sign your name in the pollbook. With a provisional ballot, you fill out your name and address. If in doubt, ask the pollworker whether this is a provisional ballot form. If the answer is yes, STOP, and call 866-OUR-VOTE to get advice before proceding.

    The League and many other organizations are skeptical of Ohio’s provisional balloting system. We’re not confident the votes will actually be counted. And even if they are counted, it will be 10 days after the election, when the candidates have already conceded and it’s too late for a provisional ballot total to really matter.

    Here is the section of the Ohio Revised Code that addresses non-matching ID’s:

    § 3505.18. Voting procedure.

    (A) (1) When an elector appears in a polling place to vote, the elector shall announce to the precinct election officials the elector’s full name and current address and provide proof of the elector’s identity in the form of a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter’s name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the name and current address of the elector. If the elector provides either a driver’s license or a state identification card issued under section 4507.50 of the Revised Code that does not contain the elector’s current residence address, the elector shall provide the last four digits of the elector’s driver’s license number or state identification card number, and the precinct election official shall mark the poll list or signature pollbook to indicate that the elector has provided a driver’s license or state identification card number with a former address and record the last four digits of the elector’s driver’s license number or state identification card number.

    I say, bring your passport and a utility bill and riase a big stink if they try to make you vote provisional.

  16. that’s why voting permanant absentee is the way to go

    Actually, from what I know about voting, they only count permanent absentee votes if the race is close. I learned this a couple years ago when I was in college working on a voter registration drive. Has anyone heard differently?

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