Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose applauded former President Donald Trump and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson’s (R-LA-04) election integrity proposal to ensure that only U.S. citizens are allowed to register and vote in American elections.
On Friday, Johnson joined Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida where the pair announced a bill would soon be introduced in the House that would implement the following requirements for voting in U.S. elections:
- Require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote;
- Put safeguards on the election system in the U.S.; and
- Require states to remove non-citizens from their existing voter rolls.
President Trump and I agree: only American citizens should be allowed to register and vote in American elections.
Working together, we can protect our election integrity, grow the House majority, win the Senate, and retake the White House. pic.twitter.com/rAEmnIai17
— Mike Johnson (@MikeJohnson) April 13, 2024
“Every single person who registers to vote in a Federal election must prove they’re an American citizen first,” Johnson said while discussing the bill on Friday. “Our bill would put us on par with virtually every other democracy around the world that also prohibits non-citizen voting.”
Ohio’s LaRose expressed support for Johnson and Trump’s election integrity proposal on Saturday, saying, “Election integrity is vital to not only ensuring an accurate and honest process, but also increasing public trust in our elections.”
“Ohio leads the nation on many of the goals outlined, including our work to ensure only citizens may vote. It’s time we build on that and take Ohio’s model nationwide while giving states access to the data needed to better conduct this important work,” LaRose said.
“I want to thank President Trump and Speaker Johnson for their continued leadership on this important work and urge my colleagues in other states and Congress to support the important legislation the President and Speaker outlined yesterday,” LaRose added.
My statement on President Trump and Speaker Johnson’s election integrity proposal: pic.twitter.com/NYYqy6oKiJ
— Frank LaRose (@FrankLaRose) April 13, 2024
Ohio ranks 12th in the nation in maintaining the most secure elections, according to the Heritage Foundation’s Election Integrity Scorecard.
The Buckeye State’s current score is 74 out of 100. The scorecard is regularly updated as states make reforms and changes to their election laws.
The Heritage Foundation’s Election Integrity Scorecard grades the election laws and procedures of all 50 states and the District of Columbia according to 47 best-practice criteria developed in consultation with trusted election experts. The think tank launched the tool in 2021.
Despite the state’s above-average ranking, Ohio was only awarded one out of four points in the Verification of Citizenship category, as the state does not use the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlement (SAVE) Program to help identify non-citizens who register to vote.
In addition, Ohio state election officials do not utilize state and federal jury information to verify citizenship.
Instead, the state uses citizenship information from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles annually for purposes of voter registration list maintenance.
In November 2022, 76.9 percent of Ohio voters voted in favor of the Citizenship Voting Requirement Amendment, a constitutional amendment prohibiting local governments from allowing noncitizens or those who lack the qualifications of an elector to vote in local elections.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Ohio Sec State Frank LaRose” by Ohio Sec State Frank LaRose.
