Local senator’s bill would require proof of citizenship for voter registration

Oct. 30—State Senator Dayton introduced a bill Wednesday that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in Ohio.

The bill proposed by state Sen. Niraj Antani, R-Miami, would also require proof of citizenship to update voter registrations.

It states that proof of citizenship may include a valid or expired Ohio driver’s license or state identification card; out-of-state identification cards or driver’s licenses; birth certificates; valid or expired US passports; or certificate of naturalization.

Ohioans registering to vote must already provide a driver’s license or state identification number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.

“Ensuring the security of Ohio’s elections must be our top priority. This bill will prevent illegal immigrants from voting in our elections,” Antani wrote in a press release, criticizing President Joe Biden for allowing “an invasion of our country by illegal immigrants.”

“We must take every precaution to ensure that they do not vote in our elections,” said Antani, whose legislative proposals in recent months have shifted toward election integrity.

In the United States, non-citizens are prohibited from voting in federal elections, and the Ohio Constitution prohibits non-citizens from voting in any election. People must prove they are citizens when they register to vote, but federal law prohibits requiring proof of citizenship for federal elections.

Voter fraud by American citizens or non-citizens in the United States is extremely rare in the United States, according to research by groups such as the liberal Brennan Center for Justice, the conservative Heritage Foundation and the libertarian CATO Institute. There are approximately 8 million registered voters in Ohio.

Antani’s bill seeks to provide another layer of protection to ensure that non-citizens cannot improperly get on the state’s voter rolls.

A recent Dayton Daily News investigation found that election officials in three counties in the region; A Warren County prosecutor and a local immigration lawyer said mistakes by Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices led to some noncitizens being registered to vote when they received a state ID or driver’s license. licenses, including when a person declares that he is not a citizen. Those interviewed said that none of these people tried to vote.

Antani’s bill comes amid a flurry of attention on the potential issue of noncitizen voting in Ohio, led by Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who earlier this year said the Legislature should require proof of citizenship to register.

Critics have questioned why Republicans in Ohio and other states are focusing on the issue of noncitizen voting ahead of the Nov. 5 election, even though voter fraud by anyone, including noncitizens, is rare.

“Ohio has a lot of real problems, but this is not one of them. You have to wonder why some elected officials are focusing so much attention on an issue that doesn’t exist,” said Ellis Jacobs, a retired senior attorney with Advocates for Basic Services. Legal Equality (ABLE) in Dayton, in a September interview.

While he was still at ABLE, Jacobs analyzed cases of voter fraud across the state, including by noncitizens, in the 2016 Ohio election.

“I have found that most of them can be attributed to miscommunication or miscommunication. And that only a small handful of people who voted were not allowed to vote. And only a small group of people were prosecuted,” Jacobs said.

Antani’s proposal comes a week after Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced indictments against six people (one of whom is dead) for allegedly voting illegally in Ohio elections when they were not U.S. citizens between 2008 and 2020. In total, these cases involved 138 charges filed by LaRose.

After Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley convicted Yost last week of charging a dead man, Yost’s office said the indictment against the dead man would be dismissed.

In August, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed proof of Arizona citizenship to be required for those who registered on Arizona forms, but barred the state from denying those who registered on federal forms the ability to vote for president or by mail. The legal battle over the law will continue in lower courts.

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Avery Creamer can be reached at 614-981-1422, X, via email, or leave him a comment/tip in the poll below.

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