BS BULLETIN:
- A federal judge temporarily blocked Ohio from requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when people register to vote through the BMV.
- Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. found the requirement likely conflicts with the federal National Voter Registration Act.
- Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose says the state will immediately appeal.
Ohio’s new proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration just hit a federal roadblock.
U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday blocking the state from requiring people registering through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to produce documents proving they are American citizens.
Oliver found that the requirement likely conflicts with the National Voter Registration Act because it demands more than the “minimum amount of information necessary” under federal law. Ohio’s other registration methods accept a signed attestation of U.S. citizenship.
The ruling does not mean people who identify themselves as noncitizens can register. The injunction applies to driver’s-license applicants who have not produced citizenship documentation but seek the opportunity to register.
LaRose isn’t taking the decision quietly.
“Under this order, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles would be required to offer a voter registration form to a person who is applying for a driver’s license, even if that person can’t verify that they’re a citizen,” LaRose said in a statement reported by the Associated Press.
“We strongly disagree with that decision,” he added, saying he directed his legal team to file an immediate appeal.
Ohio’s voter-registration deadline for the November 3 midterms is October 5.
MY QUICK TAKE
This is exactly why the court fight matters.
The judge says federal law doesn’t permit Ohio to demand these additional documents at the BMV. Ohio says asking people to prove they’re citizens before registering is basic election integrity.
Now the appeals court gets to decide who has the better reading of the law.
And yes — it’s also precisely the kind of real story that makes our TOTAL BS version almost write itself.
DBS WIRE SOURCES
- AP: Federal judge blocks enforcement of Ohio proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration
- Reuters: US judge blocks Ohio law requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration
- Elias Law Group: Federal court blocks Ohio documentary proof-of-citizenship requirement
