CINCINNATI A federal judge on Thursday, Oct. 9, ordered Ohio’s top elections official to verify the identity of newly registered voters by matching them with other government documents.
A U.S. District Court judge in Columbus ruled that Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner must perform verification required by the Help American Vote Act.
That includes matching new registrants’ information with information in databases maintained by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles or the Social Security Administration.
The order was the result of a lawsuit filed by the Ohio Republican Party against Brunner, a Democrat.
“Plaintiffs assert, and the court agrees, that it is hard to imagine a public interest more compelling than safeguarding the legitimacy of the election of the president of the United States,” Judge George C. Smith wrote in his ruling.
Brunner also was ordered to establish a process by which Ohio’s 88 county election boards can access data generated by the checks.
Residents registering to vote must provide their name, address, birth date and either their driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number ..
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