CLEVELAND — All Voting is Local Ohio urged the Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Associations to use agency resources to help residents meet identification requirements to cast a ballot.
In a letter sent Wednesday, All Voting is Local Ohio called on the housing associations to provide zero balance statements to all of their residents during the month leading up to every local, state, and federal elections. Providing the zero balance bills would allow voters to provide requisite voter identification and is a common practice among state colleges and universities. All Voting is Local Ohio’s research found that identification requirements are a barrier to the ballot, causing disproportionately high provisional ballot usage for Black and Brown communities in Cuyahoga, Franklin, and Hamilton counties.
“We know that larger urban counties have a massive transient population,” said Kayla Griffin, All Voting is Local Ohio state director. “People often move and have delays in updating their state-issued identification and pertinent information. Although advocates are working to help people update their voter registration, proving residency may be a hassle.”
The full letter can be found here.