Judge Blocks Ohio Citizenship Proof for Voters

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked Ohio from requiring people to produce documents proving U.S. citizenship when they register to vote at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr., sitting in Cleveland, found the requirement likely conflicts with the National Voter Registration Act, which he said takes precedence over the state law.

The injunction lands ahead of Ohio's Oct. 5 registration deadline for the November midterms. Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said he would appeal immediately.

Who It Affects

Registering at the BMV is one of the most common ways Ohioans get onto the voter rolls. Under the blocked rule — added to Ohio's motor voter law last year and in force for the first time this year — applicants had to produce citizenship documents instead of simply signing a statement swearing they are citizens.

Oliver's order goes further than the paperwork. He found Ohio had illegally limited BMV registration to people who successfully obtain a driver's license; federal law, he ruled, requires the opportunity to register be offered to everyone who applies for one. Reading the law Ohio's way, he wrote, would let states make BMV registration "more onerous" and could mean fewer registrations because eligible citizens might never be offered the chance.

The order does not cover applicants who indicate they are not U.S. citizens — BMV employees still should not offer them registration forms. It does cover applicants who say they are citizens but are denied a license for lack of documents.

Neither the ruling nor the reporting on it puts a number on how many Ohio registrations were affected. A 2025 University of Maryland study cited by the Associated Press estimates 21.3 million Americans eligible to vote either lack the documents needed to prove citizenship or lack easy access to them.