An audit ahead of the critical 2024 election in November has exposed major issues with Ohio’s voter rolls.
The audit found hundreds of noncitizens currently registered to vote in the state.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is now moving to purge the illegally registered foreign nationals from the voter rolls.
The audit uncovered 499 individuals who were not U.S. citizens but were registered to vote.
The removals announced Thursday include individuals who confirmed their noncitizen status to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
That data was then paired with the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database.
SAVE also confirmed them to be noncitizens.
State officials had given the individuals an opportunity to remove themselves from the voter rolls but they failed to comply.
“These individuals failed to respond to notices from the Secretary of State’s office asking that they either confirm their citizenship status or cancel their registration,” LaRose’s office said in a statement.
Officials clarified that any individual losing their registration as a result of Thursday’s action may submit a provisional ballot.
However, this ballot will only “be counted upon proof of citizenship,” LaRose confirmed.
“I swore an oath to uphold the constitution of our state, and that document clearly states that only United States citizens can participate in Ohio elections,” LaRose said in a statement.
“That means I’m duty-bound to make sure people who haven’t yet earned citizenship in this country aren’t voting.
“If or when they do become citizens, I’ll be the first one to congratulate them and welcome them to the franchise, but until then the law requires us to remove ineligible registrations to prevent illegal voting.”
Ohio law requires that in order for a person to be removed from voter rolls, they must have confirmed their lack of citizenship to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles on two separate occasions.
They must also have updated their voter registration or voted in between the two occasions.
Ohio had previously removed 136 noncitizens from its voter rolls in May.
That action came as a result of an internal investigation relying on state data.
LaRose called on Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration to release the federal SAVE data at the time.
The Biden admin complied with the request, leading to Thursday’s action.
The improper voter registration could result in prosecution for some.
However, LaRose cautioned that not all instances are criminal.
His office’s Election Integrity Unit will refer cases for criminal prosecution when applicable, however.
“I want to give these folks the benefit of the doubt and say that most of them didn’t intend to break the law,” LaRose said.
Ohio’s audit remains an ongoing process.
LaRose’s office says it may announce more voter roll purges as Election Day nears.
The state has also removed nearly 155,000 registrations confirmed to be abandoned and inactive for at least four consecutive years.
“We want to make sure a mistaken registration doesn’t become an illegal vote,” LaRose said.
“We also want to make sure that lawfully registered citizens can participate seamlessly in the process.”
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