Defending HB 159, which requires a state issued photo ID to vote, sponsor Rep. Robert Mecklenborg stated that under his bill, "there is no reason there shouldn't be 100 percent (voter) participation."
Well, I can think of at least one reason.
Primary Day in Ohio this year was May 3rd, a little over a week after Rep. Robert Mecklenborg was arrested in Indiana for driving while intoxicated. If House Bill 194 was law, it's quite possible Bob Mecklenborg could have disenfranchised himself.
Under Indiana law:
When you are arrested on a first offense OWI charge in Indiana the arresting officer will take possession of your driver's license and issue you a receipt that will work as your temporary license for the next 10 days.
Assuming the officers followed protocol, Mecklenborg most likely did not have a copy of his Ohio driver's license during the May 3rd election, unless he misled the Ohio BMV by stating it was lost or stolen.
Had Mecklenborg's bill passed, he most likely would have to use his concealed carry permit to vote. Sidenote, Mecklenborg voted in favor of HB 45 which would have allowed him to bring a gun into a strip club and leave it on his lap while driving if he had been sober and in Ohio.
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