Sixth Circuit reinstates Ohio's proof-of-citizenship voter registration law
A divided appeals court panel lets Ohio require documentary proof of citizenship at BMV offices ahead of the midterms, over a Biden-appointed judge's dissent.
What to know
- A divided Sixth Circuit panel, split along the appointing president's party lines, stayed a district court injunction and reinstated Ohio's BMV proof-of-citizenship registration requirement for the midterms.
- The majority found plaintiffs lacked standing because their registration problems stemmed from unrelated paperwork defects, not the citizenship rule, while the dissent said the law is antithetical to the National Voter Registration Act.
- Research cited in coverage estimates 21 million Americans lack readily available, up-to-date citizenship documents, raising concerns the requirement could block eligible voters from registering.
- Voters who register through means other than the BMV, or visit the BMV solely to register, still only need to sign an attestation of citizenship rather than produce documents.
“Neither Dutcher nor Fazio ever encountered anything having to do with the Associations' H.B. 54 voter-registration challenge. Instead, BMV officials rejected their driver's-license applications based on independent paperwork defects.”
Sixth Circuit majority opinion, Court ruling · Ohio Capital Journal ↗ · Sep 23
Frank LaRose Ohio Secretary of StateWhitney Hermandorfer Sixth Circuit Judge (Trump nominee)John Nalbandian Sixth Circuit Judge (Trump nominee)Kevin Ritz Sixth Circuit Judge (Biden nominee)
Solomon Oliver Jr. U.S. District Judge
Marc Elias Elias Law Group firm chair
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts
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Coverage of the ruling spreads across outlets ahead of midterms
Politico, Bloomberg Law, Ohio Capital Journal, Democracy Docket and conservative outlet The Gateway Pundit all reported the reinstated requirement, framing it respectively as a setback for voters and a win for election-integrity advocates just as midterm registration is underway.
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first by Reuters, 1d ago · also Bloomberg Law News, Ohio Capital Journal, Democracy Docket, Politico, Election Law Blog
5 more headlines
- Ohio’s Motor-Voter Citizenship Proof Enforceable During Appeal Bloomberg Law News · 1d ago
- Circuit court allows Ohio BMV to require proof of citizenship for voter registration Ohio Capital Journal · 1d ago
- Ohio can require proof of citizenship for voter registration at BMV dispatch.com · 1d ago
- Appeals court greenlights Ohio GOP’s voter registration proof of citizenship requirement for midterms Democracy Docket · 1d ago
- Court reinstates Ohio law requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration Politico · 1d ago
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Reporting details majority's reasoning on standing and injury
Coverage from Ohio Capital Journal and others detailed that the majority found the challengers' named plaintiffs, including Margaret Dutcher who had a valid passport but was still blocked, lacked standing because their license applications failed for unrelated paperwork defects, not the citizenship rule itself.
“There is a strong interest in ensuring that citizens can register to vote—a process that the NVRA is meant to facilitate, not hamper. And nothing about the district court's injunction threatens the integrity of elections or Ohio's ability to preclude voting by those who are not entitled to vote.”
— Judge Kevin Ritz, Sixth Circuit Judge, dissenting · source -
BREAKING: In a loss for Ohio voters, the 6th Circuit greenlit a state law requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles while applying for a driver's license. Ohioans must now show proof of citizenship when registering to vote at
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background
Judge Ritz dissents, calls the stay antithetical to voter law — Circuit Judge Kevin Ritz, a Biden nominee, dissented, writing that the injunction being lifted does not protect election integrity and that the majority undermines the NVRA's purpose of facilitating registration.
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background
Sixth Circuit stays the injunction, reinstating the requirement — Circuit Judges Whitney Hermandorfer and John Nalbandian, both Trump nominees, granted Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose's request for a stay, finding Judge Oliver erred and that the BMV's paperwork-based process poses no cognizable injury to voters.
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background
District judge blocks the law as violating federal voter law — U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. ruled the law likely violates the National Voter Registration Act by demanding more than the 'minimum amount of information necessary' to register, and blocked its enforcement in favor of Red Wine & Blue and the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans.
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background
Ohio Republicans pass HB 54 adding BMV citizenship-proof rule — Ohio Republicans inserted the motor-vehicle voter registration restriction into a transportation spending bill, requiring documentary proof of citizenship for BMV-based registration where previously a signed attestation sufficed.