COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio has reached an agreement that gives the state access to federal citizenship records for the next 20 years — a move that will change how voter registrations are verified and maintained.

The deal allows Ohio to use the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, database. An online service run by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that helps government agencies verify the immigration status of people applying for benefits or licenses.

“Ohio has a duty to ensure that only U.S. citizens are registered to vote, and this agreement gives us the tools to do that job right,” Secretary of State Frank LaRose said in a statement.

The agreement ends months of legal tension between Ohio and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

LaRose sued t

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