100-year-old Ohio woman couldn't cast ballot under new photo ID requirement

A 100-year-old Ohio woman cast a provisional ballot Tuesday because she didn't have a photo ID, election officials said.

The incident was the only major hiccup during Ohio's first election under a new state law requiring voters to present photo identification at the polls, election officials said.

Previously, voters could present a number of nonphoto documents, including a bank statement or paycheck showing their current address, to prove their identity.

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Voters without a valid form of identification are offered a provisional ballot, that is not counted until election officials can prove the voter's identity and eligibility to vote. Voters have to return to the board of elections within four days to provide a qualifying form of identification for their ballot to be counted.

The 100-year-old Stark County voter, who came to her polling location with a family member, is now working with her relative to get a free state-issued ID and submit it to the board, said Regine Johnson, deputy director of the county board of elections. The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles is issuing free photo IDs for people without valid driver's licenses.

Tuesday's election went smoothly by most accounts, according to election officials across the state. But there's one caveat: Turnout was low, meaning most voters still haven't cast ballots under the new rules.

"It was not something that seemed to rise up and say it is a huge problem at this point," Johnson said. "Possibly people voting in the primary are those that vote and are a little more in-tune to the changes."

Knowing that, local boards of election plan to double down on voter education as November approaches and Ohio heads into a presidential campaign year.

"I didn’t see any issues really at all," said Aaron Ockerman, executive director of the Ohio Association of Election Officials. "It was super low turnout, which we had kind of expected. It was a good dry run for the new law. The stress test will come in November."

Several groups are suing Secretary of State Frank LaRose over the law, arguing it will disenfranchise voters − particularly the elderly, military voters and people of color.

A LaRose spokesman said they fielded questions during early voting from people who hadn't heard about the new law, but few inquiries came in on Election Day. LaRose's office reached out to 50 groups, including business organizations, barber shops and labor unions, asking for help to communicate the ID requirements to voters.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio's photo ID law prevented 100-year-old from voting regular ballot