Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced on Wednesday that an investigation by his office has uncovered hundreds of illegally registered non-citizen voters, 77 of whom cast ballots in the November 2018 election.
In a letter to Attorney Dave Yost on December 4, LaRose, a Republican, explained, “As a result of our review, my office has identified 277 individuals who registered to vote in Ohio and 77 individuals who cast a ballot in an Ohio election and who appear to be legally present, noncitizens.”
The Secretary of State said the review “utilized a cross-matching of the voter rolls in the Statewide Voter Registration Database with the list of individuals who have Ohio driver licenses or state identification cards.” He noted that while the state does not maintain a “comprehensive database” of non-citizens in Ohio, Bureau of Motor Vehicles records do indicate the citizenship status of individuals who apply for driver’s licenses or state identification cards.
The 277 individuals who registered to vote and the 77 who cast a ballot “each provided the BMV with documentation identifying themselves as non-citizens on at least two occasions, once before their voter activity and once after,” LaRose said.
It remains to be seen whether the attorney general, also a Republican, will charge and push for convictions for the individuals who committed voter fraud, but LaRose urged him to take action: “I’m confident that you will give this matter the seriousness that our representative democracy deserves by acting quickly to complete your investigations and pursuing prosecution as warranted.”