Ohio and North Carolina Lock Voter ID Into Their Constitutions as California Voters Reject It

Voters in Ohio and North Carolina wrote photo ID requirements into their state constitutions Tuesday, even as Democrats swept races across the country and California voters rejected a voter ID measure.

Ohio’s Issue 3 won 65.88% to 34.12%, with about 4.19 million ballots counted, according to final unofficial results from the Ohio secretary of state. The AP called the measure before 10 p.m.

The amendment locks in Ohio’s existing rule that in-person voters show a government-issued photo ID, with an exception for sincere religious objections. Future changes to the requirement would now need voter approval.

“With the passage of Issue 3, voters have enshrined commonsense voter ID protections in our state constitution,” Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose wrote online. “A historic day for Ohio and a strong statement in support of secure elections!”

Ohio delivered a split verdict. The same voters elected Democrat Amy Acton governor over Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and sent Democrat Sherrod Brown back to the Senate over Sen. Jon Husted, according to the AP.

Acton backed Issue 3, breaking with Democratic legislators who all voted against placing it on the ballot, the Daily Caller reported. Brown opposed it, saying leaders should make voting easier, “not creating unnecessary barriers.”

North Carolina’s amendment, which requires photo ID for all voters including mail and absentee voters, passed with about 60% of the vote, Just the News reported. The General Assembly will define which IDs qualify.

Citizens-Only Voting Passes in Four States

Voters in Kansas, South Dakota, West Virginia and Arkansas approved amendments stating that only U.S. citizens may vote in state elections, according to AP figures reported by WORLD.

Preliminary AP numbers showed about 79% support in West Virginia, with more than three-quarters of votes counted, and roughly 68% in Arkansas. Federal and state law already bar noncitizen voting, but the amendments make the rule harder to change.

California went the other way. The AP called Proposition 39 as failing. It would have required government ID to vote in person and the last four digits of an ID number on mail ballots.

About 60% of voters rejected Proposition 39, KPBS reported. Supporters, who raised $37 million from Republicans nationwide, called it common sense. Opponents campaigned against it by tying it to Trump.

California does not require voters to show identification at polling places, and the vast majority of its ballots are cast by mail, the AP noted. Voter identity there will continue to be checked by signature.

Other ID measures were still being counted early Wednesday. NBC News rated Arizona’s Proposition 144, which pairs voter ID with citizenship verification, too early to call when Just the News reported it, along with Nevada’s Question 7.

Voter ID remains popular across party lines. An October 2024 Gallup poll found 98% of Republicans, 84% of independents and 67% of Democrats supported requiring photo ID at the polls.

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