Frank LaRose
Ohio government panders to hard-right at expense of fair-minded majority
State government has taken a hard right turn down a dangerous road in Ohio. It’s not where most Ohioans want to go, but that doesn’t matter. The legislature doesn’t answer to us. An extreme minority is calling the shots with GOP lawmakers. Same thing is happening in other states where Republicans, with an absolute lock […]
Redistricting court challenges move forward
The fight over the legislative redistricting maps is ongoing in the Ohio Supreme Court, with a few wins already registered for opponents of the new maps. In the three different cases being considered by the state’s highest court, one from the League of Women Voters of Ohio, another from the Ohio Organizing Collaborative and yet […]
Ohio’s top elections official rejects fraud claims
A spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said the office didn’t want to get dragged in last week when a fellow Republican echoed former President Donald Trump’s baseless fraud claims and called for an audit of Ohio’s 2020 election. But the state’s top election official won’t condemn Trump or say whether he’ll support […]
Ohio GOP leaders broke promises, failed us all by creating more rigged maps
The oddest part is Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine acting as though he’s somehow powerless and had no choice when he voted to rig Ohio elections with partisan, gerrymandered maps for the next four years. After all, he’s only the governor. It’s an absurd position. Maps were proposed to the commission that actually represent the 54-46 […]
Gerrymandering is cheating: Don’t let them get away with it
Missouri Republicans thought they could get away with it. “Democracy will cease to exist in Missouri,” declared one newspaper editorial, if state Republicans ignore the will of the people on Medicaid expansion. They tried. For over a year. GOP lawmakers turned their backs on a majority of Missouri voters who amended the Missouri Constitution to […]
Ohio lawmaker seeks to protect voter education programs with new bill
A Cleveland lawmaker is hoping to protect voter outreach programs that may be in danger of being outlawed in future Ohio elections. The state budget approved earlier this summer includes a number of provisions that voting rights advocates have characterized as anti-democratic. Among them is a prohibition on election officials collaborating with any nongovernmental entity […]
Those who voted, registered illegally could face prosecution
More than 100 non-citizens could face penalties for having cast ballots or being illegally registered to vote during the 2020 election cycle, but it may take years to fully investigate and prosecute them. Secretary of State Frank LaRose recently announced plans to refer 104 cases of non-citizens being illegally registered to vote and 13 other […]
Some voter education programs may be in jeopardy due to new Ohio law
With Ohio searching for more poll workers during the pandemic last year, Secretary of State Frank LaRose had to get creative. Ohioans needed their hair cut after being indoors for months. And, perhaps just as much, they wanted to go out again for drinks. So LaRose announced two new programs meant to spur voter registration […]
LaRose: 104 illegally registered to vote in Ohio, 13 voted in 2020
More than 100 people in Ohio are accused of illegally registering to vote and casting ballots during the 2020 election cycle, Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced Monday. LaRose acknowledged some of these cases involve “honest mistakes” and reflect only a small portion of the millions of ballots cast here in 2020. Though he touted […]
Cherry bombs in drop boxes? Elections officials say Ohio boxes are secure
Ohio lawmakers are currently considering a number of changes to state elections law, with one of the proposals dealing with the use of ballot drop boxes. House Bill 294, known as the “Ohio Election Security and Modernization Act,” would prohibit counties from placing drop boxes anywhere besides at the boards of elections offices. Voters would […]
What changes Ohio elections officials do — and don’t — want to see
The organization representing elections officials throughout Ohio sees a bill proposing numerous elections changes as a mixed bag. There are some provisions in House Bill 294 the Ohio Association of Elections Officials would like to see adjusted, executive director Aaron Ockerman said Monday, while there are others it supports. One item in particular, to eliminate […]
Election reform battle comes to Ohio with new Republican proposals
The 2020 election in Ohio, Republicans will tell you, was perhaps the most successful in state history. Ohio recorded its highest turnout ever, despite a pandemic that saw COVID-19 cases rising in the weeks leading up to Election Day. Secretary of State Frank LaRose led a major poll worker recruitment drive and coordinated safety protocols […]