New US citizens may face issues when voting in Ohio; civil rights groups call for action

Voting rights groups have sent a letter to Ohio's top voting official saying that an error on the secretary of state’s website could cause recently naturalized citizens to be rejected when they try to vote.

On Thursday, the ACLU of Ohio, the National ACLU, All Voting Is Local, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, Common Cause Ohio and the League of Women Voters of Ohio sent a letter to Secretary of State Frank LaRose regarding the potential disenfranchisement of naturalized citizens.

When presenting their current unexpired driver’s license to vote, recently naturalized citizens may still have a “noncitizen” notification on the back, written in tiny print, according to a news release issued by ACLU of Ohio.

This can lead to an improper rejection, the ACLU states. Under Ohio law, renewable driver's licenses are allowed to be used as voter ID. However, the secretary of state’s website incorrectly states that renewable driver’s licenses bearing “noncitizen” notations are unacceptable forms of voter ID, the ACLU states.

"It is not required — and it’s not always possible — for a newly naturalized citizen to quickly update their license," the groups said. "The law permits a naturalized citizen who is registered to vote to use a driver’s license they had previously received when a permanent resident."

Ohio Secretary of State spokesman Dan Lusheck responded to the letter in an email, saying, "we’ll be ready to welcome new citizens to the voting process, but we’ll also be prepared to identify those who don’t qualify to cast a ballot.

"If a recently naturalized citizen intends to exercise their right to vote, they need to be registered, and they need to make sure they have an acceptable form of photo identification," Lusheck said. "If they haven’t updated their noncitizen identification, they can either do that at the (Bureau of Motor Vehicles) before voting or they can bring acceptable proof of citizenship with them to the polls. We recognize the need to provide clarification to Ohio’s relatively new citizenship voting requirement, and we’ll be issuing updated guidance to election officials as needed."

Under Ohio law, temporary residents of the United States may receive a nonrenewable driver's license, while permanent residents may gain a renewable license.

The organizations urge immediate action as early voting continues.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: New US citizens may face issues when voting in Ohio; civil rights groups call for action