(ALEXANDRIA, VA.) – February 27, 2017: The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) today offered its support for the Ohio Secretary of State’s continued investigation into potential noncitizen registration and voting, now subject to prosecution.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted’s ongoing effort to identify, remove, and refer to law enforcement individuals identified ineligible to vote for reasons related to citizenship now totals 821, with 126 casting ballots before discovery.

“This is a good first step to detect and clean aliens from the rolls,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “This latest finding continues to build the case for legislative reform that requires proof of citizenship as a component to voter registration. We need a system that protects electoral integrity at the point of registration with proof of citizenship, not years down the road with a chance discovery.”

The State of Ohio compared attestations of U.S. citizenship on voter registration forms to Bureau of Motor Vehicle data. The State noted in its announcement that more cases are likely left undiscovered due to a “lack of access to more real-time data maintained by the federal government.”

These findings echo similar work done by PILF to better quantify reported noncitizen voters in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The organization’s 2016 report found more than 1,000 registered aliens removed from voter rolls with roughly 20 percent casting ballots before discovery. The Public Interest Legal Foundation will update its report with additional findings in 2017.

Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm dedicated to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections.

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