COLUMBUS — Eleven people may be facing legal cases for violating Ohio’s voting laws.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Frank LaRose referred 11 individuals to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost for further investigation of potential election law violations. The referrals include 10 non-citizens who registered to vote but did not cast a ballot and one non-citizen who may have voted illegally.

“Equal to our responsibility to deliver accessible and convenient elections is our duty to protect the sanctity of the vote,” said LaRose. “Investigations like these are key to keeping voter fraud exceedingly rare and give voters greater confidence in the integrity of our elections.”

As required by state law, the investigation utilized a cross-matching of the voter rolls in the Statewide Voter Registration Database with a list of individuals who submitted documentation to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) on two separate occasions.

While the State does not maintain a comprehensive database of all non-citizens in Ohio, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles does record when an individual submits documentation indicating that the person is not a United States citizen.

The 11 individuals being referred to the Ohio Attorney General each provided the BMV with documentation identifying themselves as non-citizens on at least two occasions. Additionally, per Ohio law, each received two notices at the address where they are registered to vote requesting that the individual either cancel their voter registration or advise the secretary’s office that they have become a U.S. citizen.

Documentation regarding each of these individual cases has been provided to the Ohio Attorney General’s office, allowing for further investigation and, if warranted, criminal prosecution.

The Secretary of State’s office is also investigating individuals who may have voted in Ohio and one other state. LaRose said that referrals will be forthcoming.