By Luc Cohen
Aug 25 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday blocked an Ohio law requiring residents to present documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote at the battleground state's motor vehicles offices, in the latest setback for allies of President Donald Trump pushing to tighten voter registration rules.
The decision by Cleveland-based U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. marked a defeat for Ohio's Republican government ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. A competitive race
for a Senate seat in the state is considered critical for Democrats' hopes of winning control of the Senate.
Trump and fellow Republicans in state governments across the country are pushing more restrictions on voter registration, based in part on claims of widespread voting by non-U.S. citizens. Democrats and voting rights advocates counter that non-U.S. citizen voting is rare and that greater restrictions can make it harder for U.S. citizens to vote.
In Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine last year signed a new law requiring people to present documents such as a birth certificate, a passport or a naturalization certificate when registering to vote while applying for a driver's license or another type of state identification document.
ADVOCACY GROUPS CHALLENGED LAW
Advocacy groups including the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans sued to challenge the law, arguing that it imposed an unnecessary obstacle to registering to vote in violation of the National Voter Registration Act, a 1993 federal law that sought to expand voter registration in part by requiring states to give people the opportunity to register to vote when they apply for driver's licenses.
In issuing a preliminary injunction on Tuesday siding with the advocacy groups, Oliver wrote that having voters attest in writing that they are U.S. citizens was enough to allow Ohio election officials to assess their eligibility to vote.
The judge, an appointee of Democratic President Bill Clinton, wrote that NVRA had succeeded in expanding voter registration.
Ben Stafford, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement, "Eligible Ohioans will now have the opportunity to register to vote at the BMV without having to produce unnecessary paperwork."
Stafford's firm, Elias Law Group, frequently represents the Democratic Party in court.
TRUMP BACKS PROOF-OF-CITIZENSHIP LAW
The office of Ohio's attorney general, which is representing the state in court, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After the lawsuit was filed, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Ohio's top election official, said in a statement, "It's common sense that only U.S. citizens should be on our voter rolls. I won't apologize for, or back down from the work we do to ensure the integrity of our voter rolls."
Trump has unsuccessfully pushed Congress to pass a nationwide law, known as the SAVE Act, that would require Americans to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote, arguing it would deliver Republicans a "guaranteed" win in November.
A Reuters investigation in July undercut Trump's portrayal of non-U.S. citizen voting as part of a broad Democratic Party conspiracy, finding that federal prosecutors have charged just 129 people under a federal "voting by aliens" statute created by Congress in 1996.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Alistair Bell)
