Elections & Democracy
Independent research on electoral competition, voter choice, voting rules, ballot measures and the legal structure of Ohio elections.
OCG's Elections & Democracy collection examines how much meaningful choice Ohio voters encounter, how election rules operate, and what proposed changes to Ohio election law would actually do.
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Begin with a curated sequence of visuals designed to give you the foundation before you explore the issue in depth.
Elections & Democracy: Start Here
A guided introduction to electoral competition, voter choice, voting rules and constitutional ballot measures.
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Elections & Democracy: Ohio Issue 3
A focused path through Ohio's current voter-identification law, the proposed Issue 3 constitutional amendment and the distinction between statutory and constitutional rules.
EXPLORE DEEP DIVE →Elections & Democracy: Competition & Candidate Choice
A focused path through contested and uncontested Ohio legislative primaries and the measures used to describe voter choice.
EXPLORE DEEP DIVE →Explore the Research
Browse OCG's charts, explainers, and data by subtopic. Select a Visual to see the explanation, sources, and verification behind it.
![[THUMBNAIL]](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6a4ce2573c5e347b9450aeb1/6ab5727ad9a26cc8142f13f5_6ab56189ecada6b17e228b91_10_What_Issue3_Can_Tell.png)
What Issue 3 Can—and Cannot—Tell Voters
WP021 separates what can be established from the amendment's text from policy questions the paper does not answer.
View Visual →![[THUMBNAIL]](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6a4ce2573c5e347b9450aeb1/6ab57279078f59994d3650da_6ab5616d60870d73af33ef87_09_Rules_Left_to_Law.png)
Issue 3 Leaves Several Election Rules to Ordinary Law
WP021 identifies adjacent election-administration rules that the proposed constitutional text does not itself resolve.
View Visual →![[THUMBNAIL]](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6a4ce2573c5e347b9450aeb1/6ab572781f4fb17e5e176726_6ab561194452ee02438489e6_08_Statute_vs_Constitution.png)
Statute vs. Constitution: The Rule Can Be Harder to Change
WP021 distinguishes changing an ordinary statute from changing a requirement written into the Ohio Constitution.
View Visual →![[THUMBNAIL]](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6a4ce2573c5e347b9450aeb1/6ab57277d9a26cc8142f0b46_6ab560f9970f5a4d5babd469_07_Issue3_Absentee.png)
Issue 3 Does Not Itself Require Photo ID for Absentee Voting
WP021 reads the proposed amendment as allowing non-in-person voting to use a signature plus another unique identifier when authorized by law.
View Visual →![[THUMBNAIL]](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6a4ce2573c5e347b9450aeb1/6ab57276e12e70515c9028b1_6ab55c241a19ed6dc8ee4264_06_Issue3_Existing_Rule.png)
Issue 3 Would Constitutionalize an Existing In-Person Photo-ID Rule
WP021 finds that Ohio already requires photo identification for in-person voting under statutory law that took effect in 2023.
View Visual →![[THUMBNAIL]](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6a4ce2573c5e347b9450aeb1/6ab5727577c14933a4eaab95_6ab55c0ca7a20937419fbb5d_05_Uncontested_Not_No_Voters.png)
Uncontested Does Not Mean No One Voted
Some of Ohio's largest single-candidate legislative primaries still drew tens of thousands of votes.
View Visual →![[THUMBNAIL]](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6a4ce2573c5e347b9450aeb1/6ab572743b4b10b10b9eaec1_6ab55becf2fabb141e5a3402_04_Not_One_Party_Pattern.png)
Uncontested Primaries Are Not a One-Party Pattern
WP001 reports similarly high uncontested rates on Republican and Democratic legislative primary ballots in 2026.
View Visual →![[THUMBNAIL]](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6a4ce2573c5e347b9450aeb1/6ab572720afef0cba99ead37_6ab55bcb1545658ff0e05d9c_03_75_of_116_Districts.png)
In 75 of 116 Districts, Neither Party Had a Contested Primary
WP001 examines competition at the district level by asking whether either major party offered a contested primary.
View Visual →![[THUMBNAIL]](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6a4ce2573c5e347b9450aeb1/6ab5727169d2fbd4c1da6d3d_6ab55bad2e654fe25a10ae46_02_Most_Primary_Votes_Uncontested.png)
Most Primary Candidate Votes Were Cast in Uncontested Races
WP001 reports that 72.4% of candidate votes cast in the analyzed General Assembly primary contests were cast in single-candidate races.
View Visual →![[THUMBNAIL]](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6a4ce2573c5e347b9450aeb1/6ab57270dbea3d5bf310e30f_6ab55b961545658ff0e042ba_01_Four_in_Five_Uncontested.png)
Four in Five Ohio Legislative Primaries Were Uncontested
WP001 reports that 181 of 223 Republican and Democratic General Assembly party-primary contests in 2026 had only one candidate.
View Visual →LONG-FORM RESEARCH
Research Papers
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