Ohio voters to decide whether to ban noncitizens from casting ballots in state

While Ohio’s U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races have received the bulk of the attention ahead of the November general election, voters will also decide on who can vote.

Issue Two, pushed by Secretary of State Frank LaRose, would require that only a citizen of the United States, who is at least 18 years old and has been a registered voter in the state for at least 30 days, be eligible to vote in any state or local election in Ohio. It also stops local governments from allowing a person to vote in local elections if they are not legally qualified to vote in state elections.

The amendment changes the Ohio Constitution, which currently reads “every citizen of the United States ... is entitled to vote at all elections,” to “only a citizen of the United States …”

“Ohio elections are only for Ohio citizens,” LaRose said. “The right to vote is sacrosanct and fundamental to what citizenship means in America and is why so many immigrate from around the world to the U.S., wait their turn in line, and go through the laborious citizenship process so they too can participate in this hallmark of democracy.”

In 2020, according to LaRose, the Village of Yellow Springs, Ohio held a referendum on whether noncitizens could vote in local elections that passed 891-605. Following that vote, LaRose told the Greene County Board of Elections to reject voter registrations and ballots cast by noncitizens.

LaRose said the referendum exposed a weakness in Ohio election administration and Issue Two is needed to provide clarity and stop future secretaries of state from allowing noncitizens to vote.

Opponents have said Issue Two is unnecessary and an attack on the freedom to vote.

Rep. Michael Skindell, D-Lakewood, said it could stop 17-year-olds from voting in primary elections, which became law in Ohio in 1981.

“I strongly oppose State Issue 2, which will be on the ballot this November,” Skindell said in a news release. “Issue 2 would add new restrictions to voting for all Ohioans, taking our state backwards. Further, the Ballot Board approved language on a party line vote that does not accurately warn voters about what they are voting on. The people need to know the truth. This issue could take away 17-year-olds’ longstanding right to vote in primary elections. It also restricts voter registration for an entire month before elections, an unnecessary and deliberate obstacle to voter access. The voting restrictions proposed in Issue 2 are an attack on our freedom to vote."

According to Ballotpedia, New York City allows noncitizens to vote in municipal elections, and in San Francisco, noncitizens can vote in school board elections. Maryland and Vermont each have a small number of municipalities that allow noncitizens to vote.

Only North Dakota, Alabama, Colorado and Florida have passed similar measurers to change “all” to “only” in voting language in their states’ constitutions.

Louisiana has a similar measure on the ballot this year.