Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoes mail-in voter ID bill backed by GOP

This post has been republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine speaks at a podium with the Great Seal of Ohio; a sign language interpreter is in the foreground. — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine during his final State of the State address at the Ohio Statehouse in March 2026. (Pool photo by Adam Cairns, Columbus Dispatch.)

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a bill that would have required absentee voters to provide a copy of their driver’s license or state ID starting with the November 2027 election.

“House Bill 472 would not discourage fraud, would not add any real security, and would create an additional and significant burden for Ohioans who vote by mail,” DeWine said Wednesday in his veto message. The Republican governor is serving his final months in office as he is term-limited.

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“This bill is not needed, because Ohio does an excellent job running elections.”

Ohio Republicans passed Ohio House Bill 472 two weeks ago after changes were made to the bill before the lawmakers went on summer break.

The bill originally started as a bill that would waive fees for birth certificate copies for people experiencing homelessness, but was expanded to require absentee voters to show their ID either when they request an absentee ballot or if they submit their ballot in-person.

It would have required the Ohio Secretary of State, the board of electrons, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, and public libraries to provide free copies of electors’ photo IDs.

The Secretary of State would have also had to create a secure online portal where a voter can apply for an absentee ballot starting Sept. 3, 2027.

“H.B. 472 does not give voter officials any new tools to fight fraud,” DeWine said in his veto message.

“Requiring the photo ID for the mail-in ballot process does not provide election officials with any opportunity to verify if the ID picture matches the face of the voter and thereby serves as no additional verification of the voter’s true identity.”

Ohio Reps. Christine Cockley, D-Columbus, and Jodi Salvo, R-Bolivar, introduced the original bill last year and it passed the House with a near-unanimous vote.

Ohio Republican Senators added the absentee ballot portion to the bill, saying it would strengthen election integrity.

There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Ohio.

The Ohio Organizing Collaborative held a rally at the Statehouse calling on Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to veto House Bill 472, which would require absentee voters to provide a copy of their driver’s license or state ID. (Photo by Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal).

Former Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost brought forth six indictments for voter fraud in 2024 after receiving 600 referrals of alleged voter fraud from the Ohio Secretary of State.

The indicted were accused of voting at least once between 2008 and 2020 despite not being U.S. citizens then.

Ohio law already requires citizens to provide photo identification before voting thanks to a bill the lawmakers passed in 2022 and took effect in 2023. Ohio voters will have a chance to enshrine the law in the constitution on the November ballot.

Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, called DeWine’s veto “disappointing.”

“Photo ID laws are supported by a vast majority of Ohio voters,” McColley said in a statement.

“H.B. 472 when combined with this fall’s constitutional amendment requiring photo identification to vote would have given Ohioans the confidence to know that their election system was the most secure in the country.”

Ohio Democratic lawmakers spoke out against the bill — arguing the changes to mail-in voting would make it challenging for senior citizens who tend to vote absentee. Cockley was so frustrated with the changes made to her bill that she had her name removed from the bill.

“People experiencing homelessness should not be used as political leverage,” Cockley said earlier this month during the House floor debate. “A bill designed to help individuals obtain the documents they need to stabilize their lives should not become a bargaining chip for unrelated policy purposes.”

The Ohio Association of Elected Officials testified against the bill saying many senior citizens and those with chronic health conditions or mobility limitations rely on mail-in voting.

The Ohio Organizing Collaborative held a rally Wednesday afternoon asking DeWine to veto the bill.

“It is crucial that you veto this bill,” said Mary O’Boyle, founder of the Clinton County chapter of Parents United for Public Schools.

“We came to Columbus today because we are serious about our voting power. We demand that you do the right thing for the voters of Ohio. … House Bill 472 started out as an effort to make voting more accessible, but several senators decided to use this house bill to actually suppress voting power.”

Union Grove Baptist Church Pastor Derrick Holmes said this bill makes him angry.

“Democracy shouldn’t be this hard,” he said. “There are too many who have fought, too many who have bled, too many who have died, too many who have sacrificed for voting to be this difficult.”

ACLU of Ohio commended DeWine for vetoing the bill.

“This legislation was an unfounded and unnecessary attack on absentee voting, brazenly rushed through the Ohio General Assembly at the 11th hour,” ACLU of Ohio Advocacy Director Collin Marozzi said in a statement.

“By vetoing HB 472, Governor DeWine not only safeguarded Ohio voters and Boards of Elections from burdensome, complicated absentee voting restrictions, but also sent a clear message to lawmakers that we the people deserve better.”

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on X or on Bluesky.

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