A Clinton-appointed federal judge on Tuesday blocked Ohio from requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship from residents registering to vote through the state’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles, handing a major victory to Democrat-aligned election attorneys just weeks before the 2026 midterm voter-registration deadline.
Senior U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. issued a preliminary injunction against the citizenship-verification provision in Ohio House Bill 54.
The ruling applies immediately unless it is stayed or overturned on appeal.
Oliver was nominated to the federal bench by former President Bill Clinton in 1994. He assumed senior status in 2021, according to the Federal Judicial Center.
House Bill 54 amended Ohio law to require applicants registering or updating their voter registration during a BMV transaction to provide proof of citizenship, or to have previously supplied that documentation to the agency.
The requirement could be satisfied with records such as a birth certificate, passport, or naturalization certificate. Ohio’s official statute took effect in June 2025.
Apparently, requiring proof that a person is legally eligible to vote was too much for the federal court.
Hellbound and Down 