COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose's office has accused 11 non-citizens living in the state of being illegally registered to vote and has referred the matter to law enforcement for further investigation.
LaRose claims 10 of the individuals were unlawfully registered but did not vote, while the remaining person may have cast a ballot in an election they were not eligible to participate in. Attorney General Dave Yost will now examine if potential crimes were committed.
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"Equal to our responsibility to deliver accessible and convenient elections is our duty to protect the sanctity of the vote," LaRose said in a statement. "Investigations like these are key to keeping voter fraud exceedingly rare and give voters greater confidence in the integrity of our elections."
According to the secretary of state, all 11 people submitted documentation with the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles identifying themselves as not being citizens of the United States at least twice, but were registered to vote anyway. Each then received at least two notices from the state informing them to either cancel their registration or provide officials with proof that they are now, indeed, citizens.
The issue of non-citizens voting in elections has actually become an issue in Ohio's 2022 midterms, after the village of Yellow Springs passed a charter amendment allowing all residents 16 and older to vote in municipal races even if they are not American citizens. In response, the Ohio General Assembly (with LaRose's support) unanimously passed a constitutional amendment that would officially bar non-citizens from casting any ballot, and the measure will be on the November ballot statewide.
LaRose, a Republican, has mostly defended Ohio's election mechanisms and early voting periods, stating that election fraud is quite rare. This is in contrast to former president and fellow GOPer Donald Trump, who continues to falsely insist that the 2020 presidential race was "stolen" from him.
None of the individuals referred by LaRose to the AG's office have been formally identified, as of now.