The amended legislation was an try by state Republicans to crack down on unproven claims of voting by noncitizens.
Revealed On 25 Aug 2026
A United States federal court docket has briefly blocked an Ohio legislation that required proof of US citizenship from residents who wished to register to vote whereas they obtained a driver’s license.
In his ruling on Tuesday, US District Choose Solomon Oliver Jr granted a preliminary injunction in opposition to the legislation, saying it probably violates the US Nationwide Voter Registration Act (NVRA) as a result of it requires extra data than vital to find out a resident’s eligibility to vote.
Really helpful Tales
checklist of three objectsfinish of checklist
“Election officers don’t want documentary proof of citizenship to evaluate a voter registration applicant’s citizenship as a result of signed attestation of citizenship is sufficient,” Oliver wrote.
The choose additionally pointed to a clause within the act that claims every US state’s driver’s license software “shall function an software for voter registration with respect to election for Federal workplace except the applicant fails to signal the voter registration software”.
Oliver stated that Ohio should supply candidates the chance to register as soon as they’ve submitted their driver’s license software, not after it’s been accredited by the state’s Bureau of Motor Autos (BMV).
“To interpret this part of the NVRA in any other case would permit States to make registering to vote on the BMV extra onerous, and will end in fewer voter registrations as a result of the chance to use was not proactively provided to in any other case eligible residents,” Oliver added.
In 1995, Ohio handed a so-called “motor-voter” legislation that allowed residents the chance to register to vote after they utilized for a driver’s license
However that legislation was amended final 12 months by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature in an try to crack down on unproven claims, pushed partly by US President Donald Trump, that noncitizens had been voting within the state’s election. US legislation prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections.
The ruling marks a victory for voting rights advocates like Purple Wine & Blue, which sued Ohio’s secretary of state, Frank LaRose, over claims that the legislation disenfranchised eligible voters and violated the NVRA.
One of many group’s attorneys, Ben Stafford, praised the ruling, calling it “a win for Ohio voters.”
“With the registration deadline simply weeks away, eligible Ohioans will now have the chance to register to vote on the BMV with out having to provide pointless paperwork that isn’t required by federal legislation,” Stafford, an lawyer at Elias Regulation Group, stated in a press release.
LaRose said his workplace disagrees with the choice and can attraction.
