Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose files lawsuit against Biden-Harris administration
Columbus – Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose filed a lawsuit in federal court today on behalf of the citizens of Ohio, demanding the Department of Homeland Security provide access to United States citizenship records, which they have unlawfully withheld.
“I swore an oath to uphold our state constitution, and that document clearly requires that only United States citizens can participate in Ohio elections,” said Secretary LaRose. “The Biden-Harris Administration is engaging in obstruction and outright abuse of power to prevent us from removing noncitizens from our voter rolls. I take my duty seriously, so if they want a fight over the integrity of our elections, they’ve got it.”
The lawsuit, filed in federal court for the U.S. Southern District of Ohio, lays out evidence that the Biden-Harris Administration, on at least four separate occasions, failed to provide Ohio access to federal citizenship verification records necessary to prevent noncitizens from voting. After refusing for months to directly answer Secretary LaRose’s request for access to records beyond the Systematic Alien Verification and Entitlements (SAVE) database, the Department sent a letter on October 10, 2024 formally denying Ohio’s request. The additional records are essential to verifying the citizenship status of all Ohio voters, not just those for whom the Secretary of State has identified an assigned immigration verification number.
“While the administration is blocking access to these records, the Department of Justice is suing or threatening to sue multiple states, including Ohio, who are trying to enforce their citizenship voting requirements,” LaRose added. “It’s hardly a coincidence. The same administration that’s presided over the most reckless, porous immigration policy in our country’s history is also intentionally blocking states from protecting the integrity of their elections.”
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter on October 11, 2024 to the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, accusing the department of engaging in “a clear effort to intimidate and interfere with Ohio’s electoral process.” Jordan added, “Under his authority as Ohio’s chief election officer, Secretary LaRose has tried to ensure that eligible voters – and not ineligible noncitizens – participate in Ohio’s elections. … We expect your full cooperation with our oversight of your attempt to prevent states from ensuring that noncitizens do not influence our democracy.”
Background
Ohio is widely recognized as the gold standard for election integrity and administration. Secretary LaRose helped lead the effort to adopt Ohio’s constitutional citizenship voting requirement and has since worked with the Ohio General Assembly to enact landmark legislation to expand the accountability of Ohio’s statewide voter registration database. He subsequently created the state’s first-ever full-time Election Integrity Unit devoted to the investigation of election crimes, and he implemented Ohio’s first front-end citizenship verification requirement for all new voter registrations. In addition to referring hundreds of alleged noncitizen registrants and voters for criminal prosecution, Secretary LaRose is currently working with the Ohio General Assembly to adopt a new proof of citizenship requirement on Ohio’s state-prescribed voter registration forms.
* * *
••• Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 25 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.