Last minute lawsuits are flying as Ohioans head to the polls

As of Friday morning, almost 1.4 million Ohioans had already cast their ballot in this November’s election. But with Election Day drawing close, Ohio’s Secretary of State and watch dog organizations have filed new lawsuits tied to voting.

Secretary Frank LaRose’s case related to his ability to investigate supposed noncitizen registrations and has no real chance of affecting who can vote in the current election. But as election watchdogs have argued for months, it could serve as fodder for future claims of election fraud if the election doesn’t go a certain way.

Meanwhile, the ACLU of Ohio is challenging LaRose’s office for reinstating a questionnaire used if naturalized citizens are challenged at the polls. In 2006, a federal court permanently blocked the underlying state statute requiring naturalized Ohioans provide proof of their citizenship to vote. The ACLU case asks the court to force LaRose to issue a directive to county boards ordering them not to use the form.

Secretary Frank LaRose’s case demands the Department of Homeland Security turn over data the secretary believes would help him verify the citizenship status of people registered to vote in Ohio. The problem is DHS doesn’t maintain some consolidated list of citizens against which LaRose could check the voter rolls.




https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2024/10/28/last-minute-lawsuits-are-flying-as-ohioans-head-to-the-polls/