A federal judge blocked Ohio's new law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The Aug. 25 ruling means Ohioans can again register at the BMV without showing a birth certificate or passport.

U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. issued a preliminary injunction striking down the requirement, which Republican lawmakers had inserted into Ohio's two-year transportation budget. Oliver ruled the law likely violates the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, commonly called the Motor Voter Act, the Ohio Capital Journal reported.

The ruling lands less than six weeks before the Oct. 5 registration deadline for the Nov. 3 general election. That ballot includes Upper Arlington's Issue 7, a combined 4.9-mill operating levy and $273.5 million bond issue to fund the second phase of the school district's facilities master plan. The levy and bond together would raise property taxes by an estimated $1,250 a year on a home appraised at $500,000, according to the Franklin County Auditor.

Under the blocked law, BMV visitors had to present documentary proof of citizenship before they could register to vote. The Motor Voter Act requires only that applicants attest to their citizenship under penalty of perjury and bars states from demanding anything beyond the "minimum information necessary" to determine eligibility.

"Election officials do not need documentary proof of citizenship to assess a voter registration applicant's citizenship because signed attestation of citizenship is enough," Oliver wrote in his ruling, as Al Jazeera reported.

Oliver also ruled the BMV must offer voter registration when a person submits a driver's license application, not when the BMV approves it. The injunction does not require the BMV to offer registration to anyone who indicates they are not a citizen.

Two organizations, Red, Wine and Blue and the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans, filed the federal lawsuit. They argued the requirement blocked seniors who lost birth certificates, people whose names changed through marriage or divorce, those with lapsed passports and younger Ohioans who left documents with parents. Collecting replacement documents can take weeks to months, the groups said.

LaRose plans to appeal.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said he disagrees with the ruling and filed a motion to stay the injunction. His office argued in court filings that offering voter registration to incomplete license applications "imposes an enormous burden on the BMV …"

LaRose pointed to the case of Maria Dearaujo as justification for the law. Dearaujo was one of six people former Attorney General Dave Yost charged with voter fraud after reviewing hundreds of referrals from LaRose's office. A Franklin County judge found Dearaujo cast a ballot as a noncitizen, but only on the incorrect advice of a BMV clerk.

Whether the injunction remains in effect is unclear. Oliver asked the challengers to respond to LaRose's stay request by Sept. 3, but no ruling on the stay has been made public. Registration forms must be received or postmarked by the deadline, according to WOSU. Early in-person voting begins Oct. 6.