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.