Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican, has said passage by the GOP-dominated state Legislature means Ohio’s election law is no longer in limbo. But people on both sides of the issue say there’s no precedent for a legislative repeal of a bill that also is the subject of a referendum, so it’s unclear how a court might rule if a legal challenge is filed.

In a 2-1 decision issued Monday evening, a U.S. Court of Appeals panel for the District of Columbia declined to halt a ruling by a federal judge requiring organizations that run election-related television ads to disclose their donors. The court’s decision was a significant victory for campaign-finance-reform advocates, who have been fighting against the deluge of secret money that has flooded the political landscape in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling in 2010. Until the appeal of the current case is decided sometime this fall, any group that runs a type of election-related ad known as “electioneering communications” will have to disclose all of its donors since the beginning of 2011.

“If your last interaction was with Highway Safety five years ago, you would be within that 180,000,” Cate said. “But you could have become a citizen in that time, you would have the right to vote and be completely fine.” Under the 2010 Real ID Act, motorists must also provide documents on their residency status upon receiving or updating their driver’s license or state identification cards. Noncitizens legally in the country may receive a license. County supervisors are directed to contact those flagged as suspected noncitizens by the initial state review. County elections officials have 30 days to verify or disprove an individual’s citizenship. Those found to not be citizens are removed from the voter rolls. Anyone removed could face a third-degree felony charge for registering to vote, as each individual must check a box declaring he or she is a U.S. citizen on the form. It is a further felony to illegally vote in Florida. So far, state elections officials haven’t heard of anyone being removed through this process.