No ID? No problem. You can use a college provided $0 utility bill.

Russ Zimmer of Chillico The Gazzette reports.

Out-of-state students cast their ballots in Ohio

The difference between red or blue on Tuesday could come down to a few thousand votes in Ohio, with some of those deciding ballots cast by out-of-state college students voting here thanks to a $0 utility bill from their university.

Most registered voters comply with the state’s voter identification law by presenting their driver’s license, but several other forms of I.D. are approved, including utility bills like an invoice for electric or cable service. The state’s flagship institution of higher education, Ohio State University, provides this service, as do most private universities in the state.

“Most often students don’t have a driver’s license for their dorm (address) because nine months later they’re in a different location or next year they’re living in a different dorm or off-campus,” says C. Todd Jones, president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio. “If you live in a dorm, you’re paying to live there, so how do you prove that you live in that dorm? … Utility bills with the name of the student and the address of the dorm and a zero balance, to demonstrate that it’s a bill, that allows the student to demonstrate they are a resident.”

This is not new to this election cycle and there’s nothing illegal about the practice, assuming the student doesn’t also vote in their “home” state. Ohio Secretary of State spokesman Matt McClellan said if students registered 30 days before the election and have a valid form of identification then they are allowed to cast a regular ballot, not the more scrutinized provisional ballot.