Ohio Veterans Face Barriers to Voting After State Rejects Veteran IDs at the Polls
As American citizens, we are eternally grateful for our veterans’ service to our nation and steadfast commitment to preserving our freedoms. However, under new legislation in Ohio, the very freedom they fought for may be taken away from them.
Veterans in Ohio are now facing a threat to their freedom to vote due to a new bill signed by Governor Mike DeWine. With the passage of House Bill 458, veterans will no longer be able to use their Veteran ID card as voter identification in elections. This strict law would burden our most vulnerable veterans with yet another obstacle to their ability to participate in American democracy.
A Veterans Day parade. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.)
Homeless and financially struggling veterans often encounter difficulty in obtaining identification that would grant them eligibility as a voter due to financial barriers and time constraints. This law would force them to challenge this difficulty on their own, despite their honorable service to our country.
Our veterans fought for democracy all over the world and deserve our respect and care as citizens. Burdening them with this new requirement hurts not only our veterans, but also our democracy. The voices of veterans need to be heard, and this law would prevent that freedom.