Ohio voters will decide in November whether non-citizens should have a say in local elections.
Issue 2 on the Nov. 8 ballot, if approved, would prohibit local governments from allowing non-citizens to vote in municipal elections.
The language in the Ohio Constitution would be changed from, “Every citizen of the United States … is entitled to vote at all elections,” to “Only a citizen of the United States … can vote at any state or local election held in this state.”
If passed, Ohio would become the sixth state in the United States with a constitution that specifically states that “only” a citizen can vote in an election. The other states with similar language include, Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida and North Dakota.
Louisiana voters face a similar decision in November.
There are some U.S. cities that allow non-citizen voting in certain municipal elections, such as New York City, San Francisco and other cities in California, Vermont, Maryland and Maine.
Federal law states only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections, a statute enacted in 1996.
At the heart of the issue is Yellow Springs, Ohio, a village about 20 miles east of Dayton.
In 2020, the village’s councilors adopted a charter amendment that allows its 30 non-citizens to vote in local elections. The amendment followed the village’s passing of a referendum 891-650 in 2019.
The action prompted Secretary of State Frank LaRose to issue a directive, saying that only U.S. citizens can vote in elections.
He directed the Greene County Board of Elections not to accept any voter registrations from non-citizens and to cancel the voter registrations of any non-citizen residents of the village who had already registered to vote.
Of Ohio’s 11.6 million residents, 2 percent are not U.S. citizens, according to 2020 U.S. Census data.
LaRose is a supporter of the measure, which legislators from the Ohio Senate and House introduced as a joint resolution in May.
“American elections are only for American citizens, and the cities in other states that have granted noncitizens the right to vote in local elections are undermining the value of what it means to be an American,” LaRose said in a press release issued in May.
Rep. Jay Edwards, a Republican from Nelsonville, sponsored the measure along with House Majority Leader Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati.
“This is about the integrity of our elections,” Edwards said. “We are being proactive to ensure our election laws are clear and unambiguous.”
Opponents have criticized the measure as as an effort by majority Republicans to turn out right-leaning voters to the polls by stoking fear that there is something wrong with the state’s elections.
“It’s an effort to promote a narrative that our elections are faulty. It’s also an effort to tap into fear and it’s a political game,” said Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, a Democrat from Youngstown, in a WOSU article from May.
Other Democratic lawmakers have urged a “no” vote on the amendment, calling it “unnecessary” and “cloaked in fear and false patriotism,” wrote state Reps. Bishara Addison, Juanita O. Brent, Tavia Galonski and Michael Skindell.
The legislators also claim State Issue 2 could restrict a 17-year-old Ohioan’s right to vote, which is allowable in a primary if they turn 18 by the general election.
LaRose has disputed the argument, saying the amendment is similar to current constitutional language. No one has challenged Ohio’s statute permitting some 17-year-olds to vote, he said.
