Many on the left have attempted to downplay Republican claims that foreign nationals may be taking part in American elections.

Yet in a bombshell development, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is seeking to remove hundreds of noncitizens from voter rolls. 

"Only United States citizens can participate in Ohio elections"

According to Breitbart, LaRose announced this week that 499 such individuals have been identified, with county boards of elections being instructed to deregister them.

LaRose announced the move in a press release put out on Thursday, stating, "I swore an oath to uphold the constitution of our state, and that document clearly states that only United States citizens can participate in Ohio elections."

"That means I'm duty-bound to make sure people who haven’t yet earned citizenship in this country aren't voting," the secretary of state declared.

"If or when they do become citizens, I'll be the first one to congratulate them and welcome them to the franchise, but until then the law requires us to remove ineligible registrations to prevent illegal voting," LaRose pledged.

Ohio constitutional amendment bars noncitizens from voting

"The latest removals announced today include individuals who confirmed their non-citizen status to the BMV, and a subsequent review of the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database system has confirmed them to be non-citizens," he continued.

"These individuals failed to respond to notices from the Secretary of State’s office asking that they either confirm their citizenship status or cancel their registration," LaRose stressed.

Breitbart noted that LaRose's push to purge noncitizens from county voter rolls comes two years after Ohioans overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment that clarified that only Americans may vote in state and local elections.

"Any individual whose registration is removed pursuant to the Secretary’s directive can submit a provisional ballot, which will be counted upon proof of citizenship," the secretary of state went on to add.

LaRose and Trump tout SAVE Act

LaRose also took to social media and voiced support for the SAVE Act, a piece of legislation introduced by Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy which would limit voting in federal elections to U.S. citizens.

American elections are only for American citizens. Today, I’m ordering the immediate removal of 499 non-citizen voter registrations found as a part of our comprehensive audit using SAVE data.

We need to pass #SAVEAct and require these standards nationally.…

— Frank LaRose (@FrankLaRose) August 1, 2024

The bill has also received support from former President Donald Trump, with Fox News quoting him as saying last month that Republicans must pass it "or go home and cry yourself to sleep."