Pattern of Repeated Retaliation Against Ohio Citizens

Recent activity relating to this issue:

Seneca County Election Workers Demoted over Petition Support

Several election workers in Seneca County were demoted from their roles as Voting Location Managers after publicly supporting a petition to replace voting machines with hand-counted paper ballots. In August 2025, the Board of Elections initially barred anyone involved in the petition from serving in leadership roles at polling places.

The move sparked public backlash, with residents and candidates arguing the decision violated First Amendment rights. Following a packed public meeting and growing pressure, at a September 2025 meeting, the Board of Elections reversed its decision and reinstated the affected workers.

Seneca County citizens aren't the only ones being retaliated against for speaking out about Ohio's fools gold elections systems:

Citizen Removed as Precinct Election Official in Wood County Nov 5, 2024

An experienced poll worker was removed from the Nov 2024 election due to filing lawful voter challenges with the BOE and sharing the results locally.  The BOE gave no legitimate reason why that disqualified the citizen  from serving as a poll worker. The citizen volunteered instead as a poll observer through a political party and reported a hostile environment. Though told by the BOE that the citizen is on the poll worker list for the Nov 2025 election, an assigned poll location has not been scheduled.  

Citizen Removed as Precinct Election Official in Fairfield County Nov 5, 2024  

A citizen was scheduled to work the polls Nov 5, 2024 as a Precinct Election Official (PEO) as in previous elections. The citizen questioned the lack of training regarding checking photo IDs for noncitizen designation according to a new SOS directive. Apparently, the BOE did not like the questioning, and without notice or due process, removed the citizen from working the polls Nov 5, 2024.  

Citizen Removed as Precinct Election Official in Knox County Nov 5, 2024

 A citizen scheduled to work as a Precinct Election Official (PEO) on Nov 5, 2024, raised concerns with the SOS about voting machines connecting to the internet and the BOE instructing PEOs not to check photo IDs for citizenship status - despite a SOS Directive. The citizen was accused of making a statement to the SOS that the citizen says did not happen. Without notice or due process, the citizen was removed from the PEO position Nov 5, 2024. The citizen was later reinstated for the May 2024 election, but the original accusation remains unresolved, and the citizen’s name has not been cleared.

Citizen Removed as Early Voting Observer in Muskingum County Oct 28, 2024

An individual was scheduled to serve as an Early Voting Observer for the Ohio Republican Party at the Muskingum County BOE on Oct. 28, 2024. She was later informed she could not serve in that role due to her membership in an organization allegedly involved in litigation against the BOE—yet the organization in question was not actually litigating against her BOE. Ironically, she was still welcome to observe at the polls on Nov 5 for the same BOE.

. . . and there are more. Stay tuned.

HOW FAKE ID’s CAN UNDERMINE ELECTIONS IN OHIO

This week, the FBI turned over recently declassified documents alleging China tried to interfere in the 2020 election by sending mass produced fake drivers licenses to the US.

Could China have infiltrated Ohio's elections with fake IDs in 2020?

Since Ohio does not verify identification before voter registration, illegal fake ID voters can be added to the voter rolls. A BMV mismatch program should flag these voter records as unverified, triggering the mailing of Confirmation Notices. However, if recipients do not respond, there is nothing that stops them from voting mail-in or in-person with the same fake ID – despite provisions in the Ohio Constitution indicating they should not be permitted to vote. Once they vote, the BMV mismatch flag is removed, even though their identity was never verified against any state or federal database.

Could these same fake ID voters be permitted to vote if elections were held today?  

Yes, it is possible for voters added to Ohio voter rolls using fake IDs to vote in elections held today. While a state photo-id law was implemented in 2023 requiring a photo-id to vote in person, someone in possession of a physical fake ID could still present it at the polls. Additionally, mail-in ballots are counted using the same ID number provided at registration – meaning a fake ID number could be used to vote without further verification.

If passed, would Senate Bill 153/House Bill 233 resolve the current shortfalls in Ohio law regarding fake IDs?  

As introduced, these bills would not fully address the gaps that currently permit ineligible individuals to vote - contrary to Ohio’s Constitution.

• Existing fake ID voters: Those who previously registered using fake IDs can still vote in person or by mail. Because they were identified in a prior report, they are excluded from future BMV mismatch reporting and remain on the voter rolls, capable of voting a regular ballot without restriction.  

• New fake ID registrations: New registrations using fake IDs can still be added to Ohio voter rolls in large numbers without any verification that they exist or are eligible to vote in Ohio. Instead of verifying the ID exists on BMV records before they are added to the voter rolls, the following complex and error-prone minimum process must occur perfectly to prevent a fake ID vote from counting:   

1.  The Secretary of State must conduct the BMV mismatch program;

2.  The Secretary of State must send a report to the Board of Elections;

3.  The Board of Elections must flag the fake ID voter record for ID mismatch;

4.  The Board of Elections must mail a Confirmation Notice to the fake ID voter;  

a.  If the fake ID voter responds by submitting a copy of the same fake ID, the process must repeat;

5.  The fake ID voter record must then be updated to vote provisionally;

6.  The fake ID voter must not be permitted to receive a mail-in ballot;

7.  If the fake ID voter casts a provisional ballot;  

a.  The fake ID information must be uploaded to the Secretary of State’s office;  

b.  The Secretary of State must attempt to verify it against BMV records;  

c.   The Secretary must notify the Board of Elections that the ID does not exist on BMV records;  

d.  The Board must ensure the provisional ballot is not counted;

e.  The Board must cancel the voter registration that should never have been added in the first place.    

The entire chain of events is vulnerable to error at multiple stages. These risks – and the administrative burden could be avoided entirely if fake ID registration are not accepted onto the voter rolls,  consistent with Executive Order 14248, issued by President Trump.

Secretary of State Directive 2025-23 DOES NOT Ensure Only US Citizens Vote in Ohio

In 2022, Ohio citizens voted to amend Ohio’s Constitution to allow only US citizens to vote in Ohio. Over two years later, no state legislation or Secretary of State directive has enforced this change.  

Directive 2025-23 does not address this, as noncitizens can still vote in Ohio.   

• The same flawed election system that lets noncitizens register to vote on the ‘honor’ system without verifying US citizenship is still in place.   

• The same flawed Ohio law that allows individuals to avoid noncitizen identification by registering with the last four digits of their social security number (SSN4) is still in place. In 2024, 60,000 voters registered this way, and 38,000 of them have mismatched registration information to Social Security records. Additionally, a million registered  this way since 2011.

• The same flawed Ohio law that only selects noncitizens who self-identify as noncitizens twice at the BMV is still in place.  There are over 240,000 noncitizens with BMV records. How many of them are not selected for noncitizen reviews because they presented noncitizens documents once instead of twice?  

• The same flawed Ohio law that allows noncitizens to register without proper ID (no driver’s license, state ID or SSN4) is still in place, even though federal law requires otherwise.  

• The same flawed Ohio law that keeps noncitizens on the voter rolls by responding to a notice from the Secretary of State to ‘confirm’ their citizenship with no verification is still in place.

• The same flawed Ohio justice system that allows noncitizens who register and vote without prosecution is still in place.

• This directive allows noncitizens to reregister after being removed,  creating a potential endless cycle of  registration without verification, removal and reregistration without verification.

How can Ohio ensure ONLY US citizens are permitted to vote? 

Continuing the current process of trying to identify noncitizens is futile and will not prevent noncitizens from registering and voting in Ohio elections. A person could be a noncitizen one day, and be a legitimate citizen the next. Instead, efforts should focus on verifying that applicants and existing registrants are US citizens. Once verified as a citizen, that person should not need to be verified again.

Instead of focusing on noncitizens, Ohio state law and Secretary of State directives should concentrate on enforcing the Ohio Constitution’s mandate, which states “Only a citizen of the United States . . . has the qualifications of an elector, and is entitled to vote at all elections.” 

To comply with the mandate set by Ohio’s citizens in 2022, state legislators must enact laws ensuring that only US citizens are permitted to register and vote.  This can be achieved by verifying that only US citizens are added to Ohio voter rolls and verifying that only US citizens are voting.