COLUMBUS, Ohio — Next week, Ohio’s new voter ID requirement goes into effect. The law requires people to carry a state-issued ID, or driver's license in order to cast their vote at a polling station. Several groups gathered at the Ohio Statehouse on Wednesday to share how the new voter ID law will impact their lives. 

Khalid Dada is the son of refugees from Afghanistan. He said they face a language barrier, and if they become eligible to vote in Ohio, he is concerned about how these restrictions will impact them.  

"For people who are Muslims, who wear head coverings, they could be in a state where that ID doesn't accurately reflect their appearance," said Dada, president of Ohio State University's MSA.  

Dada said several refugees seek asylum in Ohio and are not American citizens. 

"The new IDs require those to have a notation on their IDs that say noncitize— we believe this can lead to disenfranchisement of voting," said Dada.

When refugees become citizens, he said they could run into further problems with getting access to a state-issued ID. 

"For Muslims or for people who have just come as refugees or have backgrounds that they might not have been here for so long, it unfortunately leave us in a place where they wouldn't be able to have IDs, have enough time or they may not have the proper education because education funding isn't being offered in different languages, or what not if there is a language barrier in place," said Dada.  

Assistant Professor Brianna Mack from Ohio Wesleyan University who teaches politics and government said it's hard for students to obtain important documentation, and that could lead to major consequences during voter turnout. 

"Because students would face difficulty getting their documents," said Mack, "and thus those students would be unable to vote. And then that experience would teach them that voting is too much of hassle." 

House Bill 458 will go into effect next week on April 4, 2023.