Ohio Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose ordered county election boards to remove 499 non-citizens from their voter rolls on Thursday as he audits the state’s voter registration database ahead of the 2024 election.

The audit began in May after the Ohio Public Integrity Division found that 137 people in Ohio were registered to vote despite confirming twice before that they were not U.S. citizens. LaRose’s latest order targets more individuals who confirmed to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) that they are non-citizens, and that status was also confirmed by a review of the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database system, according to LaRose’s office.

“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,” said LaRose. “That means I’m duty-bound to make sure people who haven’t yet earned citizenship in this country aren’t voting. 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.”

The secretary of state added that the investigation into Ohio’s voter rolls is ongoing as officials push to prevent voter fraud in the upcoming election. Those affected by LaRose’s order can still submit a provisional ballot, which will be counted if they prove their citizenship.

“I want to give these folks the benefit of the doubt and say that most of them didn’t intend to break the law,” LaRose said. “We want to make sure a mistaken registration doesn’t become an illegal vote. We also want to make sure that lawfully registered citizens can participate seamlessly in the process, especially if their citizenship status changed recently.”

Trump won Ohio in both the 2016 and 2020 elections, beating Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden by eight points. Trump is expected to win the state again in 2024, leading Vice President and presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris by around 10 points in the latest polls.

LaRose also called on Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act on Thursday, a bill introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) in May which would require documentation proving U.S. citizenship from anyone who registers to vote in U.S. elections. The SAVE ACT narrowly passed the House in July after nearly every Democrat voted against it. President Biden also came out in opposition to the bill.

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