Ohio's secretary of state and attorney general initiated investigations into potential voter fraud before the November presidential election, focusing on individuals suspected of voting despite not being U.S. citizens. Despite the initial concerns raised by Republican officials about ineligible voters participating in elections, the outcome of these efforts revealed only a handful of cases.
Out of 621 criminal referrals for voter fraud, prosecutors in Ohio have secured indictments against nine individuals over a 10-year period for voting as noncitizens. This represents a small fraction of the state's 8 million registered voters and the millions of ballots cast during that timeframe.
Recent court hearings for three Ohio defendants shed light on the circumstances surrounding these cases. One such individual, a Canadian-born permanent resident, mistakenly believed he was eligible to vote and cast ballots in the 2016 and 2018 elections. Despite showing his ID at the polling place, he was later informed by a Department of Homeland Security official that his votes were illegal.
In another case, a Jamaican immigrant who had been in the U.S. for nine years voted in multiple elections after receiving her registration, unaware that she was ineligible. Similarly, a 78-year-old woman from Canada, affiliated with an indigenous tribe, believed she could vote based on documentation she possessed.
Experts emphasize that instances of noncitizen voting are rare and are typically not part of a coordinated effort to influence election outcomes. State voter rolls are regularly updated to prevent ineligible individuals from participating, and severe penalties exist for those found guilty of casting illegal ballots, including fines, imprisonment, and deportation.
The narrative of widespread noncitizen voting has been debunked nationally, with experts attributing such claims to efforts to sow distrust in the election system. The cases in Ohio serve as a microcosm of this larger issue, highlighting the importance of upholding the integrity of the electoral process.
