When Ohio Secretary of State, Frank LaRose, said he is removing “non-citizens” from the voter rolls, what exactly did he mean?

The media world exploded with lauding or hating on the news but almost no one discussed what the memo really says.

According to the memo, Ohio law states that in order for a non-citizen to be removed from the voter rolls he/she has to:

1. 1. Have given documented notice twice that he/she is not a citizen to the BMV, and
   2. The non-citizen also has to have registered to vote, updated a registration, or voted in between the two submissions of the documentation.

At that point, the SOS office begins to send notices.

Based on the terms outlined in the memo, it appears the notification process would not even begin if:

1. 1. A non-citizen who registered to vote and/or voted told the the BMV he/she is not a citizen but did not provide documentation to prove he/she is not a citizen
   2. A non-citizen registered to vote and/or voted and provided documentation to the BMV that he/she is not a citizen one time
      
   3. A non-citizen who voted, then gave documentation to the BMV that he/she is not a citizen either one or two times
   4. A non-citizen who provided proof to the BMV that he/she is a citizen one or two times then registered to vote and/or voted after providing the documentation

In summary, this memo seems to indicate that in order for the SOS to begin the process of removing a non-citizen from Ohio voter rolls, the non-citizen has to prove with documents that he/she is not a citizen two times AND have registered to vote, updated a registration, or voted IN BETWEEN giving the BMV documentation that he/she is not a citizen.

Considering the complication of this process and the burden it puts on non-citizens which may or may not be here legally, it’s surprising that the SOS found 137.

You can read the memo below or find it by clicking here.