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Voters approve Ohio Issue 2, prohibiting non-citizens from voting in local elections

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Issue 2, which prohibits non-citizens from voting in hyper-local elections, has passed, based on unofficial election results.

The ballot amendment prohibits local governments from allowing non-citizens, or non-electors, to vote. It would require that only a U.S. citizen, who is at least 18 years of age and who has been a legal resident and registered voter for at least 30 days, can vote at any state or local election.

This is a preemptive amendment that followed a ballot issue from Yellow Springs, a village outside Dayton with about 3,800 people. They voted in 2019 to allow their non-citizen residents to vote in local elections only.

Ohio has home rule, which means municipalities get to have their own laws, as long as they don’t supersede state law.

RELATED: Ohio voters to decide whether non-citizens can vote in local elections

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