BS BULLETIN:
- A Clinton-appointed federal judge has temporarily blocked Ohio from requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when people register to vote through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
- Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. ruled that a signed attestation of citizenship is enough under federal voter-registration law.
- Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose says the state is immediately appealing — and points to a real case involving a noncitizen who illegally voted after being encouraged to register at the BMV.
Ohio wanted people registering to vote at the BMV to prove they are actually American citizens.
A federal judge says that’s asking for too much.
U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr., a Bill Clinton appointee, issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday blocking a provision of Ohio’s House Bill 54 requiring documentary proof of citizenship before certain BMV applicants are offered the opportunity to register to vote. The requirement took effect for the first time this year.
Ohio’s voter-registration deadline is Oct. 5, with the November midterms looming and a competitive U.S. Senate race that could help determine control of the chamber. Oliver concluded that Ohio’s requirement likely conflicts with the federal National Voter Registration Act because it demands more information than necessary. His reasoning gets right to the heart of the fight: Ohio already accepts a person’s signed declaration that he or she is a citizen through other registration methods.
“Election officials do not need documentary proof of citizenship to assess a voter registration applicant’s citizenship because signed attestation of citizenship is enough,” Oliver wrote in the ruling, according to Democracy Docket.
In other words: sign the form saying you’re a citizen.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose isn’t buying it.
“Under this order, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles would be required to offer a voter registration form to a person who’s applying for a driver’s license, even if that person can’t verify that they’re a citizen,” LaRose said in an official statement announcing an immediate appeal. And LaRose came armed with a rather inconvenient example of why he thinks an honor-system approach isn’t enough.
Earlier this year, an Ohio court dealt with a lawful permanent resident who admitted she illegally voted in 2018 after a BMV clerk told her to register. The woman knew she was not a citizen, according to the judge, but was ultimately found not guilty by reason of entrapment because the government employee had misled her into believing she was eligible. “The Franklin County case proves it’s not enough to just have a person’s attestation,” LaRose said in the same statement. “Ohio has a constitutional requirement to ensure that only U.S. citizens are voting in our elections.”
The lawsuit was brought by Red Wine & Blue and the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans, represented by the Democrat-aligned Elias Law Group. The challengers argue Ohio’s rule erected an unnecessary barrier for eligible citizens who lacked citizenship documents when visiting the BMV.
For now, Oliver’s injunction means Ohio cannot demand those citizenship papers before offering covered BMV applicants the opportunity to register.
LaRose has made clear Ohio intends to keep fighting.
DBS WIRE SOURCES
- Fox News — Clinton-appointed judge triggers appeal after blocking key voter citizenship law
- Associated Press — Federal judge blocks enforcement of Ohio proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration
- Ohio Secretary of State — Secretary LaRose to Appeal Federal Court Decision in Voter Registration Case
- Elias Law Group — Federal Court Blocks Ohio’s Documentary Proof-of-Citizenship Requirement for Voter Registration at BMV
