Ohio SOS Frank LaRose Visits Paulding BOE

Left to right: Ron Schmidt, Clerk; Dave Cline, Board chairman; Jacob Huner, Secretary of State (SOS) liasion; Linda Weidenhamer, Board member; Brenda Crawford, Director; Frank LaRose, Secretary of State; Brandon Wobler, Board member; Jan Commers, Deputy Director

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose came to the Paulding County Board of Election on Tuesday, December 10. LaRose’s goal since his swearing in ceremony was to visit each county in Ohio within the first year of office. Paulding County is number 86 out of 88 counties to have had a visit with the Secretary of State as he visited the northwest Ohio region. 

LaRose declared that his main goals of this stately tour was to do the following: 1. Learn; 2. Work; and 3. Promote successes of the state. So far, he is accomplishing quite a bit. 

While he was in Paulding he told the election workers, “I don’t run elections. You do!” He is not there counting ballots or making sure people know their rights. He explained how this happens at the Paulding location and the other 87 counties.

Now that Ohio is in a progressive stint to push forward cleaning up voter roles it is making it better by not having people vote multiple times. In this week’s issue of the West Bend News there is an article by LaRose’s office that show 18 Ohioans being charged with voter fraud as Ohio is working with other states to ensure one person, one vote

Homeland Security is telling other states to mimic Ohio in how they are cleaning up the roles while still enabling full access for everyone to vote.

As for security, LaRose said, “We were targeted on Election Day. Segel injection – malicious code into the SOS website.” Security is a top priority, both inside and outside the local election boards. The media coverage showing potential Russian threats in the 2016 election. LaRose stated how the ballot counter machine is not connected to the outside world (internet) in any way. The information going from the ballot counting computer can only go one way as the USB drives that are used to transfer the updated results every half hour are moved by foot to the computer connected to the internet. The USB drives can never be used again and are stored in a locked facility. 

BCI checks are done on all vendors and inside employees before they are able to work with the Board of Elections. LaRose gave examples of Right decisions vs Bad decisions vs Malicious decisions. It’s best to make sure that any issues can be mitigated before they become problems. He also brought up how all ballot elections must be done in a bipartisan fashion. There are two keys to get in the counting room and one is held by a Democrat and the other is by a Republican to ensure the fairness of results.

Some things in the BOE are stored for two years, four years or six years and then other things such as the ballot results and minutes are stored permanently.

LaRose brought up how it was unfortunate about sensationalized reporting going on right now. Social media has been used to portray the election boards in a negative light. One example he gave was the picture of a truck that showed the back end open with what was claimed to be uncounted ballots. People were posting memes that it was uncounted Trump ballots. Another posting that spread, with the same picture, was that it was Hillary ballots being disposed of. The truth was that it was a picture from Britain moving a company from one office to another. He believes it is time that all of the Board of Elections begin to use social media to show the positives of voting and that your vote counts. He said the best thing is to have open communication. “Transparency works” is the phrase that he wants people to hear. It shows that elections are clean and honest and everyone can be participants. “If people realized what happened behind the scenes with security they would be less likely the source of rumor mills in the social media.”

2018 was the biggest turnout in election history for Ohio, stated LaRose. That shows that Ohio is prepared and ready for more people voting. Recently, Paulding County had their audit for the new machines and everything came back 100% correct. This shows the new system works and the BOE should be bragging about their success. Brenda Crawford expressed her excitement for the new machines as they were technologically more advanced, with less maintenance, even though the ballots were paper.

Following the discussion with LaRose, his staff, and the Elections Board, Crawford gave a tour of the facility and the secure areas. 

Frank LaRose took office as Ohio’s 51st Secretary of State on January 14, 2019. His mission is to deliver a thriving democracy and a prosperous economy for all Ohio families. Prior to being elected to statewide office, he served two terms in the State Senate representing the 27th Senate District.

A native of northeast Ohio, LaRose grew up working on a small family-owned farm and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. After graduating from Copley High School, he fulfilled a lifelong dream by enlisting in the United States Army with the 101st Airborne, and ultimately served in the U.S. Special Forces as a Green Beret. During his decade in the uniform around the globe, LaRose received numerous commendations and honors, including the Bronze Star.

In the legislature, LaRose spearheaded efforts to increase government transparency and efficiency, particularly in the areas of elections administration and regulatory reform. He was the author of over 70 pieces of legislation, including bills that created online voter registration, replaced outdated voting equipment, and made voting easier for members of our military. As Ohio Secretary of State, he’s working to ensure elections are secure, accessible, and accurate.

LaRose graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Consumer Affairs and Business. He and his wife, Lauren, have three daughters – Hadley, Ellie and Lainey.

LaROSE REFERS 18 VOTERS TO PROSECUTORS FOR CASTING BALLOTS TWICE IN 2018 ELECTION

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose referred 18 voters to prosecutors for allegedly voting twice in the 2018 General Election. Thanks to a partnership with several other states, a review was conducted that determined 10 Ohioans voted first in another state before casting their ballot a second time in Ohio. The other eight voted first in Ohio before voting again elsewhere.

Ohio is a part of the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a coalition of states who share data in order to improve the accuracy of voter rolls and enhance voter confidence in elections. A segment of those states utilized their partnership and information sharing to identify individuals who potentially broke the law by voting in two different states.

“One person. One vote. State law makes it abundantly clear that Ohioans may only vote once in an election. The reason is simple and obvious: any additional vote diminishes the value of other votes,” said LaRose. “One of the big reasons voter fraud is so rare is because states are stepping up to enforce the law whenever it is broken.”

The review utilized the data provided by partner states to cross-match with voter history in Ohio. Each potential violation was then investigated individually in coordination with the Secretary of State’s office or local jurisdiction in the additional state. According to state law, the criminal act is the second vote. Thus, another state’s Attorney General will have jurisdiction when the second vote took place in their state and all relevant documentation will be sent to their respective office. In instances where the Ohio vote was second, relevant documentation is being referred to both the Ohio Attorney General and appropriate county prosecutor for investigation. To be clear, it is the duty of the Ohio Attorney General and county prosecutors to determine whether the identified individuals should be prosecuted.

The Ohio counties where referrals have been made are: Cuyahoga (1), Franklin (2), Geauga (1), Hamilton (2), Lorain (1), Medina (1), Summit (1), Wayne (1).