Physical ID Protects Election Integrity Without Centralizing Control Through Digital IDs

Requiring a physical ID for every person to register and vote is the most reliable way to ensure that only eligible citizens participate in elections, consistent with Ohio’s Constitution.

By contrast, digital IDs should not be accepted for voter registration or voting.  They may not verify citizenship and introduce risks that physical IDs do not, because a digital ID can be remotely disabled, tracked, modified, or made mandatory across multiple systems. This could allow access to essential activities – such as voting, banking, employment, healthcare, shopping, travel, or online services—to be controlled through a single technological gate. For these reasons, election integrity advocates do not support the 136th General Assembly House Bill 78 Digital ID for Voting.

A physical ID, while already required for certain activities like driving, purchasing alcohol, opening a bank account, or flying, cannot be remotely shut off, does not rely on electricity or internet access, is not vulnerable to cyberattacks in the same way, and cannot centralize control over all aspects of daily life into one device or system.

Separately, businesses already have the ability to deny services or close accounts based on existing public or legally obtained information, such as credit history, criminal records where permitted by law, political party, or risk assessments. Voter ID requirements are independent of these decisions. Voter ID laws govern the eligibility to participate in elections, not a business’s authority to provide or withhold services, which is determined by separate legal, contractual, and regulatory frameworks.