Ohio will be one of six states with a voter ID measure on the ballot this year
Ohio will be one of six states to decide on a ballot measure on voter identification requirements this year. Other voter ID measures are set to appear on the ballot in Arizona, California, Nevada, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. Two other voter ID measures could also appear on statewide ballots this year.
This year marks the most voter ID measures to appear on statewide ballots in a single year. From 2004 to 2025, 13 voter ID measures appeared on statewide ballots. Voters approved 10 of those measures and defeated three. All 13 measures either established or expanded voter ID requirements. Four measures were state statutes, and nine were constitutional amendments.
The Ohio Require Voter Identification Amendment would amend the state constitution to require voters to present photo identification to vote in person, and to require absentee voters to provide a photo ID, or a signature plus one other unique identifier authorized by law. It would also allow the Legislature to establish an alternative identity-verification process for voters with a sincere religious objection to being photographed.
Currently, Ohio law requires voters to present photo ID while voting, with accepted forms of ID including a valid Ohio driver's license or ID card, U.S. passport, and U.S. military ID. Ohio law also requires absentee voters to provide a copy of their photo ID, an Ohio driver’s license or ID number, or the last four digits of their Social Security number.
So far, this measure is the only one Ohio voters will decide on Nov. 3. However, seven potential amendments could also make the Nov. 3 ballot.
Kansas could become the first state to change how its Supreme Court justices are selected since 2021
On Aug. 4, concurrent with its statewide primaries, Kansans will vote on a constitutional amendment to change the method for appointing state supreme court justices. If the measure passes, it will be the first time since 2021, when Ohio changed its supreme court elections, that a state has changed how it selects its supreme court justices.
The measure would change Kansas' judicial selection method from assisted appointment to direct election, and abolish the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission.
The Kansas Legislature placed the measure on the ballot by passing Senate Concurrent Resolution 1611 (SCR 1611). On March 6, the state Senate approved it 27-13. Twenty-seven Republicans voted in favor of the amendment, while four Republicans and nine Democrats voted against it. On March 19, the state House approved the amendment 84-40. Eighty-four Republicans voted in favor, while four Republicans and 36 Democrats voted against it.
Kansas is one of 21 states that use the assisted appointment method, in which a nominating commission sends a list of applicants to the governor, who selects from that list. It is the only state in which the state Bar Association is responsible for appointing a majority of members of the nominating commission, while in other states, the governor is responsible for appointing a majority of members, or neither the governor nor the state bar association are responsible for a majority of appointments.
California initiative to require healthcare union members to approve union political spending qualifies for the November ballot
On June 5, a ballot initiative to require healthcare unions to disclose how they spend member dues on state and local ballot measures, and to obtain majority member approval for such spending, qualified for the November ballot in California. The California Hospital Association (CHA), a trade association representing hospitals and health systems across the state, is sponsoring the measure.
The CHA initiative would apply to all healthcare unions in the state with more than 50,000 members. This would include unions such as SEIU Local 2015, California Nurses Association, and SEIU-UHW.
At least one union that this measure would affect - SEIU UHW - is heavily involved in other ballot measures this year. SEIU-UHW represents healthcare workers in the state and proposed two measures on the November ballot. One initiative would establish a compensation limit for CEOs, executives, administrators, and managers of healthcare corporations. Another would prohibit healthcare clinics, specifically federally-qualified health centers and related organizations, from spending less than 90% of their annual revenue on mission-related purposes.
Five other initiatives and three legislative referrals have qualified for the ballot. The measures address health care executive compensation, housing, health clinic spending, vote requirements on tax measures, voter ID, public financing of election campaigns, conducting recall elections, and vote thresholds for ballot measures.
Signature verification is also pending for nine other ballot initiatives in California. To see the list of measures, click here.
