As seen at Election Law:
Naturalized citizens and groups representing their interests brought a federal lawsuit today, challenging a new provision of Ohio’s election law. The complaint in Boustani v. Blackwell (Case No. 1:06-cv-02065-CAB), challenges an amendment to Ohio’s challenge law that was enacted as a part of House Bill 3 earlier this year. The ACLU’s press release announcing the case may be found here.
The new provision (Ohio Rev. Code section 3505.20) requires naturalized citizens to produce a certificate of naturalization at the polling place, if their eligibility to vote is challenged. Those who are unable to do so are denied a regular ballot, and compelled to cast a provisional ballot. Those provisional ballots will only be counted if the challenged naturalized citizens provide proof of citizenship within 10 days.
I’m guessing that fair-skinned folks who look like they’re citizens are unlikely to be challenged or to have their birth certificates demanded of them, but that brown-skinned voters justifiably feel this apparent need to carry around special documentation is unfair.