Trump Speaks on Ohio Voter ID

With Senate Joint Resolution 10 on voter ID having passed the Ohio Senate last week, and a similar resolution expected to come up for a vote on Wednesday in the House, President Donald Trump took to social media to promote the effort.

“Democrats fought hard against this, presumably so they can CHEAT,” Trump posted Monday on Truth Social.

“I am now asking all of my Republican friends in the State House to, also, PASS THIS NOW, and put a Constitutional Amendment on the Ballot so that the Great People of Ohio can vote to enshrine VOTER I.D. in the State Constitution. I will be watching, and am strongly supportive of this Resolution,” he added.

Many Ohio Republicans expressed enthusiasm that the president was speaking out, including the resolutions’ sponsors and Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou. Vice President JD Vance, an Ohio native, also shared Trump’s post.

The push comes as Vivek Ramaswamy argued for a constitutional amendment last month. Republicans in the Legislature heeded the call, moving quickly to pass resolutions to put the issue before voters in November.

Both Ramaswamy and Trump have been supporting the federal SAVE America Act to require proof of citizenship for voter registration. The bill has been held up in the U.S. Senate, however.

In an op-ed for the Cincinnati Enquirer, Ramaswamy referred to the SAVE America Act as “a welcome proposal,” adding that “those of us here in Ohio should not be forced to wait.”

Voter ID is popular around the country and in Ohio, according to polling from Heritage Action and Honest Elections Project Action.

State Sen. Jane Timken told the Daily Signal last week that if voters pass the ballot initiative in November, it will be “the most stringent voter ID law in the country.”

The resolutions have faced mild opposition from the Right, primarily over the lack of photo ID requirements for absentee mail-in ballots. State Rep. Ron Ferguson, a Republican, signaled his opposition to the measures as written.

The polling by Honest Elections Project Action indicates that voters would support a ballot initiative with requirements for mail-in ballots, and Ferguson introduced the Secure Vote Act to that effect, which is currently assigned to the General Government Committee.

The Trump administration also is attempting to fix problems with mail-in ballots. Ohio Capital Journal reported that the Department of Homeland Security “plans to monitor the flow of mail ballots for signs of voter fraud.” That move comes after a March 31 executive order from the president, which faced several lawsuits.

Late last month, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee in Washington, ruled against pausing the executive order.