(Columbus) – Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced today that he has formally referred evidence of non-citizen voter registrations to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost for further review and potential prosecution.
“I’m duty-bound to make sure people who haven’t yet earned citizenship in this country do not vote in our elections,” said Secretary LaRose. “We’ve so far identified 597 individuals who’ve registered to vote in Ohio despite not being citizens of the United States, as our state constitution requires. The evidence includes 138 individuals who appear to have cast a ballot in an Ohio election during the time state and federal records show they lacked citizenship status. The law requires me to refer these individuals to the attorney general, and that’s what we’re doing today.”
Earlier this year, Secretary LaRose launched a comprehensive audit of Ohio’s voter registration database, resulting in the removal of 154,995 registrations confirmed to be abandoned and inactive for at least four consecutive years.
LaRose also initiated the most extensive citizenship verification audit ever conducted by the Ohio Secretary of State’s office. The analysis included cross-checks against records provided by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, the Social Security Administration, federal jury pool data, and other resources. The office is currently seeking to expand its citizenship audit protocols to include the federal Person Centric Query System (PCQS), also maintained by DHS. Secretary LaRose added that investigations into the citizenship status of voter registration records remain ongoing and additional removals may be ordered ahead of the November general election.
Background: Ohio law gives the Secretary of State the duty to “investigate the administration of election laws, frauds, and irregularities in elections in any county, and report violations of election laws to the attorney general or prosecuting attorney, or both, for prosecution.” R.C. 3501.05(N)(1). The law further states: “In the performance of the secretary of state’s duties as the chief election officer, the secretary of state may administer oaths, issue subpoenas, summon witnesses, compel the production of books, papers, records, and other evidence, and fix the time and place for hearing any matters relating to the administration and enforcement of the election laws.” R.C. 3501.05(EE).
To better fulfill these statutory duties, LaRose created the office’s first-ever Office of Data Analytics and Archives, as well as a full-time Public Integrity Division, to build on Ohio’s record as a national leader in election administration. The division consolidates many of the office’s longstanding investigative functions, including campaign finance reporting, voting system certification, voter registration integrity, the investigation of election law violations, data retention and transparency, and cybersecurity protocols. The Ohio General Assembly is currently considering legislation to make the division’s Election Integrity Unit a permanent function of the office.
Earlier this month, Secretary LaRose announced a major expansion of his office’s Public Integrity Division, adding three new members with experience from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the United States Secret Service.
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