State Auditor Plans to Add Photos to Food Stamp Cards in Ohio

Ohio’s state auditor and two Republican legislators announced a plan to add photo identification to food stamp cards to prevent fraud.

State Auditor Dave Yost, along with State Rep. Tim Schaffer and State Sen. Matt Huffman, announced the legislation Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

Yost said an audit last year found loopholes in Ohio’s $2.5 billion food stamp program that open the door to potential fraud. He explained that photo identification would help avoid trafficking in food stamp cards.

Schaffer introduced the legislation in the House, and Huffman introduced it in the Senate.

Ohio’s food stamp error rate, which includes administrative errors and fraud, is five percent, according to Yost.

Exceptions will exempt some food stamp users from the photo requirement for religious beliefs, the Dayton Daily News reports.

Lisa Hamlet-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Food Banks, calls the legislation unnecessary and says people who need the benefits could be intimidated by the new requirement.