The state has asked a federal court to allow a law to go into effect that would ban foreign nationals from donating to ballot issue campaigns in Ohio. Gov. Mike DeWine said state lawmakers should consider passing that ban again after a federal judge struck down part of it over the weekend, but he cautioned them against passing any more big changes to election laws.
Judge Michael Watson blocked part of House Bill 1 just hours before it was to take effect Sunday, saying it violates the First Amendment rights of lawful permanent residents known as green card holders. DeWine called for a special session in late spring to pass that ban, along with a law to change the presidential candidate certification deadline to after the Democratic National Convention.
"This is something the legislature should look at, and look at the possibility of enacting separate piece of legislation which exempts out those who are carrying a green card," DeWine said. “I think we have the right to say ‘no’ if you're not a U.S. citizen. But green card holders, we know, based upon previous court decisions, have a different status. They have a special status.”
The ban's sponsor, Rep. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati), had warned against the last-minute addition of green card holders to the bill, and he ended up voting against it. House Bill 1 was aimed at dark money going into the Issue 1 redistricting amendment on the ballot this fall, which most Republicans oppose.
Lawmakers are also being asked to consider some voting law changes by Secretary of State Frank LaRose. In a letter last week, LaRose suggested that legislators look into banning secure ballot drop boxes and requiring proof of citizenship with voter registration.
DeWine signed a sweeping package of election law changes last year in House Bill 458, which requires voters to show photo ID, eliminates most August special elections and and limits counties to a single secure ballot drop box. He has said before that he doesn’t want to sign any more Republican-backed voting law bills. And he said these new suggestions from LaRose don’t change that.
“I think anyone who wants to change what we do has a burden of proof of showing that there's a there's a problem with what we do now. There has to be some end to changing rules. We've done it. But we do a good job," DeWine said. "We count our votes pretty quickly. We do it in an accurate way. And I'm satisfied with our system."
Republicans have often raised concerns about drop boxes and about non-citizens voting, which is already banned in state law and by the Ohio constitution. A federal court put on hold part of House Bill 458 that addresses limits on who can help people with disabilities cast ballots, saying it violates the federal Voting Rights Act.
In his letter to lawmakers LaRose noted that his office found 597 cases of non-citizens registering and/or voting among 8 million registered voters, but included no examples of security violations with drop boxes.
