COLUMBUS, Ohio — A year after Ohio’s new voter ID requirements went into effect, there has been a new push by some lawmakers to change the election laws again. 

Since last summer, voters in Ohio who show up at the polls have been required to provide a valid government-issued ID. Now, a new bill is looking to extend that requirement for people registering to vote and requesting a mail-in ballot.

"And so we're trying to figure out how to correct the process early-on so that we're actually verifying that someone is an eligible elector before we're putting that into the large database," said State Rep. Bernie Willis, R-District 74.

Willis is one sponsor of House Bill 472. Ohio's election laws let prospective voters use the last four digits of their social security number to prove their identity when registering to vote or requesting a mail-in ballot. It’s a method that the Ohio Association of Election Officials says has worked so far. The process is extensive and thoroughly vetted. 

"We double check that and start databases," said Aaron Ockerman the Executive Director of the Ohio Association of Election Officials. "Once we receive it, we verify that your signature matches. They're actually five different pieces of identifying information on that ballot that we use to confirm your identity." 

Ockerman said the Ohio Association of Election Officials has not taken a stance yet on the new proposal, and neither has the Ohio Secretary of State’s office. But opponents say the bill could make it tougher for some people to vote.

"We've seen huge increases in participation through vote by mail, especially for seniors." said State Rep. Dani Isaacsohn, D-District 24. "And so by requiring them to scan a photo ID to request their absentee ballot rather than use their Social Security number, that's going to hinder their ability to vote.”

"We already have very strict systems in place to make sure that our voters ballots are secure, that our elections are secure and that every vote is counted accurately in Ohio," said Nazek Hapasha, the policy affairs manager at the Ohio League of Women Voters.

Willis said the new law would even further strengthen the integrity of Ohio’s elections.

"We are getting past those worries that it's (a) voter suppression bill," Willis said, "which we’re absolutely, it's not the intent." 

In addition to changing the ID requirements, the bill would also require a cyber security review of Ohio’s voting machines. It would give counties the option to hand count paper ballots, and it would prohibit voting machines from being connected to any telecommunications network.