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    Boustani v. Blackwell (now Boustani v. LaRose)

    In 2006, the Brennan Center and co-counsel obtained a permanent injunction against the enforcement of an Ohio law that required voters challenged at the polls on the basis of citizenship to provide documentary proof of citizenship. In October 2024, Secretary of State Frank LaRose revised the form to put that requirement back into place. On October 23, 2024, the Brennan Center and co-counsel filed a motion to enforce the 2006 permanent injunction and block the revised form. Based on the Secretary’s public representation to the court that voters will only be required to produce additional documentation if they are relying on an outdated driver’s license marked “noncitizen” on the back, the court denied our motion on October 30, 2024.

    Last Updated: November 1, 2024
    Published: October 26, 2006

    On August 29, 2006, the Brennan Center, ACLU of Ohio, Lawyers’ Committee, and ACLU Voting Rights Project filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of Ohio, challenging a provision of Ohio House Bill 3 which unfairly threatened to burden the voting rights of naturalized citizens.

    The challenged provision would have allowed poll workers to inquire if a voter is a naturalized citizen and if so, to require those voters to provide proof that they were naturalized. If they could not provide proof at the polling place, the voter could cast a provisional ballot but must visit the Board of Elections with documentation within 10 days of the election. Those individuals who no longer had copies of their naturalization papers—new copies of which can cost more than $200 and take up to a year to obtain—would have been denied the right to vote altogether.

    The statute did not require any similar documentation or proof of citizenship from native-born citizens. As such, the law singled out one group of U.S. citizens and placed an unfair extra burden on them to cast their ballot. Additionally, allowing poll workers to challenge someone’s ability to vote based on their place of birth would have opened the door to ethnic and racial profiling and would almost certainly have discouraged voting by racial minorities and other immigrant groups.

    The proof of citizenship requirements would not have prevented ineligible non-citizens from voting. They instead would have operated as voter intimidation tactics preventing eligible citizens from participating in the electoral process.

    Plaintiffs contended that the law discriminated against naturalized citizens and placed an undue and unnecessary burden on their right to vote, in violation of the 1st and 14th Amendments; violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because only naturalized citizens needed to show proof of citizenship and because such proof was not necessary to determine an individual’s eligibility status; and constituted a poll tax on naturalized citizens, in violation of the 24th and 14th Amendments because individuals who need to replace or modify their naturalization papers must pay more than $200 to obtain a replacement certificate.

    On October 4, 2006, District Judge Christopher Boyko issued an order preliminarily and permanently enjoining the discriminatory provision. On October 26, 2006, Judge Boyko ordered that the statute was unconstitutional for imposing undue burden on the right to vote of naturalized citizens, unlawfully discriminatory in violation of the 14th Amendment, and an unconstitutional poll tax in violation of the 14th and 24th Amendments.

    In early October 2024, Secretary of State Frank LaRose distributed to election officials — but did not announce publicly — a revised form for poll workers that requires voters challenged on the basis of citizenship to provide documentary proof of citizenship, effectively putting back into place the discriminatory requirement that was permanently enjoined in October 2006.

    On October 23, 2024, the Brennan Center and co-counsel filed a motion asking Judge Boyko to enforce his permanent injunction and block the revised form.

    On October 30, 2024, Judge Boyko denied the motion, but left in place the 2006 permanent injunction. Judge Boyko’s decision relies in part on Secretary LaRose’s representation that the revised form will be used only when a voter presents a driver’s license or state ID card with a “noncitizen” marker. This means that poll workers are still prohibited from requiring voters who present identification other than a driver’s license or ID with a “noncitizen” marker to provide documentary proof of citizenship. 

    District Court