TOLEDO, Ohio — August will be here before you know it, which means back to school and back to the polls. The Aug. 8 special election will require voters to show a government issued photo ID.
A coalition of voter-advocate organizations want to make sure voters have what they need for the upcoming election.
Voters who need help getting an ID for voting can come to the Main Library in downtown Toledo from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The event has been organized by the NAACP, Ohio Unity coalition, Greater Northwest Ohio Central Labor Council, Jobs With Justice and the library.
Advocates are prepared to help would-be voters to gather the appropriate documentation to get the photo ID they will need at the polls.
To vote in August, voters will need one of these types of valid photo identification:
- Ohio driver's license
- State of Ohio ID card
- Interim ID form issued by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles
- A U.S. passport
- A U.S. passport card
- U.S. military ID card
- Ohio National Guard ID card
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID card
All photo IDs must have the following:
- An expiration date that has not passed
- A photograph of the voter
- The voter’s name, which must substantially conform to the voter’s name as it appears in the poll list or in the poll book
Some groups worry the new requirements could be difficult for some voters.
"A lot of people don't know where their birth certificate is or don't have it, it cost 25 dollars to acquire one and people don't know that," said Petee Talley, the executive director of the Ohio Coalition on Black Civic Participation.
That's why organizations are partnering with the library to make sure everyone has a chance to vote.
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