Ohio elections chief: 17 noncitizens voted in 2012

12/18/2013

COLUMBUS — Ohio’s top election official says 17 noncitizens voted illegally in the battleground state in last year’s presidential election, and another 274 are registered but did not vote.

Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted said today he was able to identify non-U.S. citizens on Ohio’s voter rolls for the first time through coordination with the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

He emphasized that none of the cases involves illegal or undocumented immigrants.

In one case, a legal noncitizen had been voting in Ohio since 1993.

The results of his review will be turned over to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine for possible prosecution.

Husted says improved online voter registration could avert future cases, because prospective voters must provide a drivers’ license number that could be checked for citizenship status.