A bill to require photo identification from all Ohioans who vote by mail has been vetoed by Gov. Mike DeWine.

DeWine, who vetoed House Bill 472 Wednesday, said it “would not discourage fraud, would not add any real security and would create an additional and significant burden for Ohioans who vote by mail.

“This bill is not needed because Ohio does an excellent job running elections. We know who wins on election night and not weeks later.”

The governor also noted that requiring a photo ID for the mail-in ballot would serve as no additional verification of the voter’s true identity. He also called it another “unfunded mandate” for the Ohio Secretary of State’s office and all 88 county boards of elections.

The measure, whose primary sponsor was Jodi Salvo, R-Bolivar, passed both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly along partisan lines. From the Mahoning Valley, state Sens. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, and Sandra O’Brien, R-Lenox, and state Reps. Tex Fischer, R-Canfield; Nick Santucci, R-Niles; and David Thomas, R-Jefferson, voted for the bill. State Rep. Lauren McNally, D-Youngstown, voted against it.

In response to the veto, Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, said, “”Photo ID laws are supported by a vast majority of Ohio voters. It is disappointing the governor would oppose such a common-sense election security bill when Democrat-controlled states such as Virginia and Hawaii have repealed their photo ID laws. HB 472, when combined with this fall’s Constitutional Amendment requiring photo identification to vote, would have given Ohioans the confidence to know that their election system was the most secure in the country.”

House Bill 472, as originally introduced last year, would waive fees for birth certificate copies for people experiencing homelessness, but it was expanded this year to require absentee voters to show a photo ID.

Most of the testimony on the revised version of the bill opposed it.

The Ohio Association of Elected Officials testified against the bill, saying many senior citizens and those with chronic health conditions or mobility limitations rely on mail-in voting.

American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio Advocacy Director Collin Marozzi called the legislation “an unfounded and unnecessary attack on absentee voting, brazenly rushed through the Ohio General Assembly at the 11th hour.”

Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, argued that Ohio’s absentee process already includes a robust security framework, including bipartisan oversight, ballot tracking, identity verification, physical security protocols and comprehensive post-election audits.

“By passing this legislation, you would ultimately be taking the vote away from countless Baby Boomers and voters with disabilities — many of whom cannot easily make it to the BMV and use county-issued IDs when they do need identification for non-election matters,” Miller said.

In his veto message, DeWine also cited Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who said, “We’ve ensured Ohio elections are the gold standard nationwide.”

In concluding his statement, the governor said, “”HB. 472 is all burden for so little benefit. Therefore, this veto is in the public interest.”