After uncovering nearly 1,100 cases of noncitizens either registering to vote or voting in an election, Ohio’s Secretary of State has referred them to the Justice Department for possible federal prosecution.
Ohio Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose this week announced the findings of an investigation, which revealed evidence of illegal immigrants on the state’s voter rolls and other alleged federal election crimes.
The 1,200 criminal cases involve 1,084 noncitizens who appear to have registered to vote unlawfully in Ohio. Among those, 167 noncitizens appear to have voted in a federal election during the past four election cycles, from 2018 to 2024.
The investigation also found another 100 other people who appeared to have voted in a federal election twice in two separate states, and 16 people who allegedly voted twice in Ohio in the same election.
“We now have an executive administration at the White House and the Department of Justice that has expressed an interest in actively reviewing and potentially prosecuting evidence of federal election crimes,” LaRose said in a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division regarding the criminal cases.
Republicans raised concerns over election integrity and noncitizens voting in federal elections leading up to the 2024 presidential election, following four years of President Joe Biden allowing millions of illegal immigrants to flood the country.
Many of those migrants headed for sanctuary states, including California, Illinois, New York and Minnesota, that give illegal immigrants IDs and driver’s licenses. Critics argue that this makes it easier for illegal immigrants to cast a ballot.
Republicans in Congress also pushed the SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote. The bill passed the U.S. House in April, but it has not been brought to a vote in the Senate and has yet to become law.
Other states, including Texas, have been investigating potential noncitizens on voter rolls.
Last week, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson said 2,724 potential illegal immigrants were flagged through a federal database cross-check. The cases have been sent back to counties for a 30-day citizenship verification process, Fox News Digital reported.
In Ohio, LaRose pushed to investigate and purge the voter rolls of fraudulent voters. State law empowers the Secretary of State to “investigate the administration of election laws, frauds, and irregularities in elections in any county, and report violations of election laws to the attorney general or prosecuting attorney, or both, for prosecution,” according to his office.
“Ohio has earned its reputation as the Gold Standard, and our Election Integrity Unit continues to prove why,” LaRose said. “We work tirelessly to ensure that every eligible voter’s voice is heard, and anyone who tries to cheat the system will face serious consequences.”
In 2022, LaRose announced the creation of a Public Integrity Division in his office to focus full-time resources on investigations and to better assist with criminal prosecutions. In 2024, LaRose found 137 suspected noncitizens on the state’s rolls and took action to confirm and remove them.
Of the 1,200 cases LaRose referred to the Justice Department, other cases of concern include 14 people who appear to have voted in a federal election after the date of their death, four people allegedly engaged in ballot harvesting and two people who registered at an unlawful address.
LaRose’s office sent a letter and evidentiary materials related to the alleged voter fraud to the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division for further review.
“I have made numerous criminal referrals throughout my administration, with much of the evidence related to unlawful registration and voting activity,” LaRose said in the letter. “These cases have encountered varying degrees of adjudication from Ohio’s 88 county prosecutors.”
