CLEVELAND — In Ohio, there’s a new way to prove your identity that has people wondering about ballot access in November.
Governor Mike DeWine recently announced that Ohioans can now add their driver’s license or ID card to their digital Apple Wallet.
THE CLAIM
Almost right away, we saw the claim that you could use an Ohio ID stored in the digital Apple Wallet as proper identification for voting. So let’s verify if that’s true.
SOURCES
- Ohio Governor Mike DeWine office
- Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose's office
EXPLANATION
This press release from the governor’s office lists a few places the digital IDs will be accepted, including at "select businesses, in select apps, and at transportation security administration (TSA) security checkpoints, including at John Glenn Columbus International Airport and the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport."
As you can see polling places aren’t on that list.
Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s press secretary Ben Kindel confirmed to me that:
"Ohio IDs in Apple Wallet are not among the acceptable forms of ID required to vote."
ANSWER
So the claim is false, and you need to know that an Ohio driver's license or state-issued ID that's stored in a digital Apple Wallet will not be adequate identification for voting.
MORE INFORMATION
You’ll need your physical driver’s license or state ID, or one of the other approved forms of identification listed here on the Secretary of State's website, to cast your ballot in person this November.
It’s nothing against digital IDs. The governor’s office told me that for now, polling places just don’t have the equipment they would need to accept them.
