Ohio Issue 2 wins easily; Will ban noncitizens from voting in local elections

Ohioans overwhelmingly voted for State Issue 2, amending the state constitution to prohibit local governments from allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections, according to unofficial results.

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The amendment primarily changes language in the section of the state constitution that concerns who may vote, with the purpose of ensuring that only adult U.S. citizens who legally reside in and are registered to vote in Ohio for at least 30 days can cast a ballot in state and local elections.

It also prohibits local governments from allowing a person to vote in local elections if they are not legally qualified to vote in state elections.

Could noncitizens vote in Ohio before the amendment?

Federal law already prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, and the Ohio Constitution previously stated that "every citizen of the United States, of the age of eighteen years … and has been registered to vote for thirty days … is entitled to vote at all elections."

However, in 1917, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that "home rule" allowed in the state constitution – which gives local governments the ultimate say over their own local affairs that don't interfere with existing law – allowed municipalities to expand voting rights in city elections. Back then, that meant a city could allow women to cast votes in local elections even though the right to vote was generally reserved for men.

What first led to Issue 2's placement on the ballot was an ordinance passed by Yellow Springs in 2019 that allowed noncitizens to vote for the village's local officials. A year later, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose ordered election officials in Greene County reject non-citizen voter registrations and table the measure.

Then, earlier this year, Republican state lawmakers introduced legislation that would become Issue 2. It was created in reaction to more high-profile instances of local governments allowing noncitizens to vote, like a now-defunct New York City policy passed in late 2021 that would have allowed almost 800,000 noncitizens to vote for its mayor, city council and other local positions.

State Reps. Bill Seitz, R-Green Township, and Jay Edwards, R-Nelsonville, introduced the original legislation in May. It was quickly approved by a Republican majority in the House, then passed almost unanimously by the state Senate.

Who supported Ohio Issue 2?

Backers of the amendment said it's important to uphold the integrity of citizenship, while opponents argued it's an unnecessary part of a trend to cut down on voting access.

"The fact that so many other jurisdictions in 'blue' jurisdictions are extending the franchise to noncitizens amply demonstrates why Issue 2 is needed to clarify this issue in Ohio," Seitz said.

LaRose has routinely expressed his support for Issue 2. He said allowing noncitizens to vote would create a huge administrative burden, because it would require for county boards of elections to set up separate ballots with only local elections, separate voting machines and other systems for noncitizen voting.

"Issue 2 will, really, just codify into our constitution the thing that has been sort of assumed for a long time," LaRose said during an October press conference. "That is the right to vote in the state of Ohio is a right that is reserved exclusively for U.S. citizens."

Who was opposed to Ohio Issue 2?

Yellow Springs officials argued that there are legitimate reasons to let noncitizens vote in municipal elections.

Village council president Brian Housh told lawmakers that allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections for areas in which they are residents provides a voice to those with a vested interest in their communities.

Opponents of Issue 2 said the amendment was unnecessary because noncitizen voting is already illegal. The ballot issue is merely addressing a voter base who believes in unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud, and it targets negative rhetoric at immigrant communities, said the Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund.

Democratic state representatives argued against Issue 2, saying that it's "cloaked in fear and false patriotism," and a "phony issue pushed by wealthy secret-money special interests from out of state," wrote state Reps. Bishara Addison, Juanita O. Brent, Tavia Galonski and Michael Skindell.

Democratic lawmakers and state constitutional experts have also said that the changes made to the language on who may vote could threaten the right of 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections in Ohio if they turn 18 by November, and would cement into the constitution the 30-day period between the voter registration deadline and Election Day.

LaRose, Seitz and other supporters said the concern is a nonissue, and that even if opponents are correct, it would take an unlikely lawsuit to prevent 17-year-olds from voting in Ohio primaries.

"This is something that perhaps I should not get ahead of because it could be the subject of future litigation or whatever else, but I don’t see that changing," LaRose said at a press conference.

Nolan Simmons is a fellow in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism's Statehouse News Bureau.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Issue 2 is wins easily on election night 2022