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The saying is, “As goes Ohio, so goes the election.” The Buckeye State has proven to be a critical swing state in recent elections. Now, Ohio is one of many states with major activity around the issue of voter ID laws. There is currently a petition in the state to create a “Voters Bill of Rights” to guarantee citizens the right to vote by writing it into the Constitution.  The effort needs 385,264 valid signatures by July 2, 2014 to become a ballot measure. Otis Moss, Jr. joined “NewsOne Now” Thursday and said that the effort will need twice that number in case many are discounted.

Ohio is, of course, but one state facing voter ID challenges. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a whopping 34 states have passed laws requiring voters to show some form of ID at the polls. The organization says as of February 2014, 32 of these states are currently enforcing that legislation. The other two are awaiting court decisions. The remaining states use other means to confirm the identity of voters, namely, a signature that’s checked against information on file. If you’re interested in your state’s vote ID policy, the NCSL also has this handy state-by-state infographic:

 Along with Otis Moss, Jesse Jackson, Sr. also appeared on “NewsOne Now” with Roland Martin Thursday to discuss Ohio’s voter protection efforts. Listen below.

Be sure to listen to “NewsOne Now” with Roland Martin, weekdays at 7 a.m. EST and watch at 9 a.m. EST on TV One.