By Mariah Alanskas for Kent State NewsLab.
Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi reporting for the Kent State-Ohio News Connection Collaboration.

Ohioans will face new restrictions at the ballot box this November, including new rules surrounding voter identification and drop box usage, and shortened deadlines for absentee ballots and early voting.

While these restrictions can affect all Ohio voters, voting rights advocates say they could disproportionately impact voters with disabilities, college students and voters who haven’t cast ballots in several years, including those listed within the recent Ohio voter purge, where around 160,000 “inactive” voters who hadn’t voted in 4 consecutive years were removed from voter registration without being notified.

House Bill 458, which introduced many of these rules, took effect in April 2023. But these laws may present a prominent issue for the first time in November’s election, said Greer Aeschbury, a senior campaign manager for “All Voting is Local,” a nonpartisan organization that works to educate and expand voter access across eight states, including Ohio.

While many of these changes have been in effect since 2023, they will affect some voters for the first time this fall, since November elections — especially presidential elections — generally see greater turnout than special and off-year elections.

“The people who voted [in August] are usually the most informed voters in Ohio. They’re the ones who follow the news and know what’s going on with the new voter ID laws,” Aeschbury said.

Voter limitations and their effect

The new requirements could disproportionately affect people like absentee voters who live out of state, Ohio college students, voters with disabilities and those without knowledge of the new voting laws and requirements.

According to Aeschbury, All Voting is Local expects to see an increase in voters being turned away from the polls this November due to expired or unacceptable IDs compared to 2023’s special and local elections.

The only forms of ID that are accepted now are an Ohio driver’s license, an Ohio state ID, interim identification form (which the BMV must provide for free upon request), a U.S. passport or a U.S. military ID.

IDs that are no longer accepted include expired IDs, a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, other government document, a concealed carry permit or a student ID — all of which were accepted in the 2020 presidential election.

“The ID laws impact everyone, no matter who you are,” Aeschbury said. “But, they particularly impact people who are least likely to have current Ohio IDs, like college students, disabled and elderly Ohioans, along with people of color.”

This can especially affect college students who only have a student identification card as their real ID and may not be able to easily get an Ohio ID.

Kent State University junior Adriana Dentici, an out-of-state student from Pittsburgh, says she wanted to vote in Ohio this year and thought about getting an Ohio ID, but missed the registration deadline for Ohio voting. Instead, she is casting a mail-in ballot in her home state.

“Honestly, I’m surprised with how short [the deadline] was,” Dentici said. “I feel like a lot of people didn’t know you needed it in 10 to 15 days before and I think that that definitely plays a big factor in [why I’m voting in Pennsylvania.]”

HB 458 also limited ballot drop boxes to one site per county, and ballot drop boxes can only be used during the board of election’s open hours. 

And HB 458 required that people who need assistance with physically dropping their ballots in the provided boxes, or returning their absentee ballots — including elderly voters or those with disabilities — could only receive help from certain direct relatives: a parent, child, sibling, aunt, uncles, niece or nephew. They could not receive help from a caregiver, trusted friend, neighbor, grandchild or anyone else. 

After litigation, a federal judge ruled in July that this provision violated the rights of disabled people; people with disabilities can have anyone (except an employer or union representative) drop off their ballot. 

But now, following a directive from Secretary of State Frank LaRose, anyone returning a ballot on behalf of anyone else must fill out an attestation form inside the Board of Elections office.A lawsuit filed by the Ohio Democratic Party and two anonymous voters sought to reverse that directive, but it was shot down earlier this month. 

Anyone who returns another’s ballot not within the approved list or without filling out a form could be charged with a fourth-degree felony per HB 458.

For Trinity Meyers, founder of Kent State’s Diverse Disabilities club and a person with autism, these rules make voting feel “classist.”

“With all of these barriers, many disabled individuals are discouraged from voting altogether,” Meyers said. “If disabled individuals have to go through all these barriers just to vote, it feels as if America doesn’t want us voting.”

How to ensure your vote counts

Despite the laws and regulations that may limit a voter’s capability to vote—there are ways to ensure your ballot is counted this upcoming election.

“We are encouraging voters, especially those with disabilities, to plan their vote in advance of the general election, so that they can best be prepared to participate in the voting process and make sure that their vote is counted,” Muslat said.

While the early voting deadline has passed, you can request absentee ballot by the end of the business day today, Oct. 29. 

Absentee ballots can be turned in via mail with a postmark by Nov. 4, or returned in person either by the voter or one of the approved persons listed above by Nov. 5. 

According to Muslat and Aeschbury, when putting a voting plan together, consider the following:

• Check to see if your ID is an approved form, unexpired and contains your current address.


• If voting by mail, request your ballot immediately and turn it in as soon as possible, to avoid slow mail delivery.


• If voting in-person or via dropbox, confirm your polling location, if they have a dropbox and the accommodations they offer, if you require any.


• Call your local County Board of Elections with any voting questions or concerns.

If all else fails, provisional voting should be available on Election Day.


Although HB 458 changed the time to get your provisional ballot approved from seven to four days post-election day, provisional voting can be a good option if a voter forgets proper identification, changes their address of residency within 30 days before election day, or if a voter believes they are fully eligible to vote but are denied at the polls. 


According to Aeshbury, even if your provisional ballot is denied, it will count as your voter registration for the next election.


“A provisional ballot is really just a chance to double-check that you really are supposed to be voting, and that you’re qualified,” Aeschbury said. “You vote a ballot just like a regular, and then you fill out this provisional envelope that is put into a special box. Then after Election Day, the board of elections will go through and check each provisional ballot and determine whether that person was eligible to vote or not, and then count their vote accordingly.”


For more information regarding Ohio voting laws, visit the Ohio Secretary of State’s website.




Mariah Alanskas wrote this article for Kent State NewsLab. This collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.


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Voting rights advocates in Texas are speaking out against a proof-of-citizenship bill before lawmakers.

Senate Bill 16 would require new registrants and some existing registered voters to prove they are U.S. citizens.

Amber Mills, issue advocacy director for the Move Texas Civic Fund, said the requirement would be in addition to what the state already does to check someone's eligibility.

"When you're completing a voter form, you do also have to submit either your driver's license number or your Social Security number," Mills pointed out. "That's really important because that is how the state verifies who you are, and that's a key indicator that they use to protect their databases on the back end."

Even if you were born in the U.S., the bill could require you to show proof of citizenship with a passport or birth certificate matching your current name. According to the Secure Democracy Foundation, more than 38% percent of rural and small-town Texans do not have a passport.

Anyone who cannot prove citizenship would be placed on a separate voter roll and could only cast ballots in the U.S. House and Senate races.

Emily French, policy director for the advocacy group Common Cause Texas, said the additional barriers could prevent many residents from casting their votes in local, state and presidential races.

"All the DPS systems, all the immigration systems which say that they are citizens, but there can still be mistakes that mark them as noncitizens and could throw them off the voter rolls until they come in with these documents that they don't have," French explained.

The bill directs the Texas Secretary of State's Office to check all registered voters' status by the end of the year and send the names of registered voters who have not proven their citizenship before September 2025 to county elections offices.

Mills noted if you are flagged, there is no online system to comply with the request and all paperwork must be submitted in person.

"We are not disputing the goal of having only eligible citizens on the voter rolls, but we know that Texas already has strong systems in place," Mills emphasized. "It's ultimately the state's responsibility, the county's responsibility to do these voter roll checks, but what SB 16 would do is not change any of that, not improve any of that. It would just add an additional burden."


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Legal groups are weighing an appeal after a court ruling this week that left voters in several states, including North Dakota, at a disadvantage in making use of the Voting Rights Act.

At issue is their ability to sue based on racial discrimination. A three-judge panel with the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a pathway under Section Two of the landmark law for voters to bring lawsuits if they feel local and state election policies have violated their civil rights. The decision stems from a recent redistricting victory for a pair of Native American Tribes in North Dakota.

Mark Gaber, senior director of redistricting for the Campaign Legal Center, said he was shocked by the latest outcome.

"The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has done what no court in the country has ever done, and there's been 400-plus Voting Rights Act cases filed for decades," Gaber pointed out.

The decision affirmed a ruling from the full 8th Circuit, which said language in this section of the law does not specifically mention private individuals. One judge filed a dissenting opinion. The 8th Circuit covers seven states, and civil rights groups said if the outcome stands, voters in those states would have to lobby the Justice Department to bring a case forward.

Gaber noted the problem with asking the Justice Department is, the agency is not equipped to move quickly on such requests.

"They simply don't have the resources," Gaber pointed out. "The individual voters who are familiar with what is happening in their localities and on the ground are frankly, in many cases, better suited to bring these cases."

The Justice Department is also part of budget-cutting moves by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, the Native American Rights Fund said this week's ruling sets a dangerous precedent for minority voters who do not want to be silenced.


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Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has seen the last few bills of the 2025 legislative session cross his desk and as the ink dries, policy experts reminded Montanans some bills will face the courts before they take effect.

Gianforte signed Senate Bill 490, which changes the Election Day cutoff for same-day voter registration from 8 p.m. to noon. It also eliminates early registration the Monday before Election Day, shifting the deadline to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Zuri Moreno, state legislative director for the advocacy group Forward Montana, said the change especially affects Montanans who drive long distances to vote.

"We've already heard from the courts that you're not supposed to mess around with same-day voter registration," Moreno pointed out. "It just takes away that opportunity for working folks and young folks and rural people across the state."

Montana's Supreme Court ruled last year banning same-day voter registration is unconstitutional. In January, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the decision.

Laws passed this session may still be challenged in court, including those centered on the LGBTQ+ community, which was targeted by at least 23 bills. Moreno noted the "community really showed up this session."

"We saw so many folks sharing personal stories and public testimony, so many folks showing up for lobby days and rallies," Moreno recounted. "Thousands of people engaged in the legislative process, which is essential."

In a win for renters, Gianforte also signed House Bill 311 , which requires rental application fees to be returned to people who do not end up signing a lease.

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