Tell the Ohio legislature: Say NO to the Poll Tax!
Forcing citizens to pay for the right to vote - whether directly or by requiring them to purchase an ID card - is blatantly unconstitutional and discourages lower-income citizens from voting. But that's exactly what some Ohio lawmakers want to do.
Twenty-four Republican members of the Ohio House of Representatives are pushing a bill that would require many state residents to pay an unconstitutional poll tax to vote.
House Bill 189 would force voters to show a driver's license, passport, military ID, or voter ID card to vote - but all of these forms of ID cost money, including $8.50 for a voter ID card. Charging citizens any amount to vote is blatantly illegal, and throughout history has been used as a tool to oppress minority citizens. (The Ohio voter ID card is free to those below the federal poverty line, but that's a terrible way to measure wealth and still constitutes an illegal poll tax for many others.)
Supporters of the bill say they want to stop the supposed threat of voter fraud - but only 17 non-citizens in Ohio cast votes in the last national election, out of 5.63 million total votes. Yet voter ID cards always depress turnout among young voters, low-income Americans, and voters of color. They may not be anti-poverty or racist in intent, but that is the practical outcome.
Please sign the petition and send a message to your member of Ohio's House of Representatives: Say NO to the poll tax!
I am concerned that a new bill would require many of Ohio's voters to purchase an ID in order to vote. This requirement would be equivalent to an unconstitutional poll tax.
House Bill 189 would force voters to show a driver's license, passport, military ID, or voter ID card to vote - but all of these forms of ID cost money, including $8.50 for a voter ID card. Charging citizens any amount to vote is blatantly illegal, and throughout history has been used as a tool to oppress minority citizens. (Making the voter ID card free to those below the federal poverty line still constitutes an illegal poll tax on many citizens.)
Supports of the bill say they want to stop the supposed threat of voter fraud - but only 17 non-citizens cast votes in the last national election, out of 5.63 million total votes. That means this bill, like most voter ID laws, would harm low-income voters, Ohio's young adults of voting age, and voters of color, all for no real reason other than politics.
[YOUR PERSONAL COMMENT HERE]
Forcing citizens to pay for the right to vote - whether directly or through the purchase of an ID card -- is unconstitutional and discourages lower-income citizens from voting. I respectfully urge you to vote "no" on Bill 189!
