An audit uncovered 499 individuals who were registered to vote but were not U.S. citizens, prompting Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to purge hundreds of noncitizens from the database.
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, which also confirmed them to be noncitizens, reports Fox News.
“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, which “will be counted upon proof of citizenship.”
According to Fox News, the improper voter registration could result in prosecution for some, but LaRose cautioned that not all instances are criminal. His office’s Election Integrity Unit will refer cases for criminal prosecution when applicable, however.
“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 told Fox News Digital 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, and 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 President Biden’s administration to release the federal SAVE data at the time and the administration complied with the request, leading to Thursday’s action.
