COLUMBUS, Ohio — As early voting commenced in Ohio for this fall’s elections, which include a presidential election, a crucial U.S. Senate race, and a redistricting initiative, several voter rights disputes remained unresolved.
Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose has not yet addressed concerns raised by Common Cause and the League of Women Voters about the systematic removal of voters from the rolls in various counties, a situation they attribute to challenges from third parties. The advocacy groups have raised alarms, claiming these actions go against the National Voter Registration Act.
According to LaRose’s office, he voted to maintain a majority of the contested voters in Delaware County and is currently evaluating claims from three other counties. National conservative groups linked to former President Donald Trump have been instrumental in these grassroots challenges aimed at questioning the validity of numerous voter registrations. LaRose has endorsed their initiatives, asserting that maintaining accurate voter rolls is fundamental to conducting effective elections, as stated by his spokesman Dan Lusheck.
“Ohio is known for some of the most transparent election processes in the country, and we take pride in that,” Lusheck remarked.
In the Ohio Statehouse, Democratic leaders continue to scrutinize LaRose for purging 155,000 voter registration records in August. LaRose has maintained that these actions were legally mandatory, targeting registrations deemed inactive, non-citizen, deceased, or otherwise ineligible.
On Monday, state Rep. Elliot Forhan, a Democrat from the Cleveland region, formally challenged the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections to reinstate 741 voters in a county critical to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s reelection efforts against businessman Bernie Moreno.
Additionally, fellow Democrat state Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney from the Cleveland area sent a letter to LaRose requesting more information about the processes behind voter removals. With previous records, her office managed to find over 1,000 voters in Cuyahoga County who were wrongly removed, prompting her request for an independent audit.
“If Frank LaRose isn’t going to ensure all eligible voters can cast their ballots in Ohio, he should at least provide the necessary public records so that I can ensure it myself,” Sweeney emphasized in her statement.
In response, Lusheck pointed out that LaRose’s office had complied with Sweeney’s records request back in June and suggested that she had not followed up until she chose to publicize her political dilemma.
Another unresolved issue involves a lawsuit from the Ohio Democratic Party filed in September against LaRose’s directive, which bars individuals assisting voters with disabilities from using drop boxes for ballot submission. LaRose issued this directive following a federal court’s decision that revised parts of Ohio’s extensive 2023 election law. This ruling allowed more individuals to assist voters with disabilities while introducing specific requirements for ballot submission.
LaRose characterized this directive as a precautionary measure against ballot harvesting, which Democrats have labeled illegal.
In addition, three of the seven justices on the Ohio Supreme Court — two Democrats and one Republican, all of whom are campaigning for re-election this fall — have opted to recuse themselves from this case. A fourth justice was requested to recuse but chose to remain.
Both the Republican National Committee and the Ohio Republican Party announced their intention to intervene in the lawsuit.
“Secretary LaRose has taken necessary measures to protect Ohio’s electoral integrity, but Democrats are once again attempting to undermine commonsense safeguards that facilitate voting while preventing fraud,” stated Michael Whatley, chairman of the national committee. “This is yet another attempt to eliminate ballot security measures right before the elections, and we are committed to countering this effort.”
