Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced on Tuesday the referral of 41 suspected cases of voter fraud to law enforcement for possible prosecution. The cases include 30 instances of noncitizen registrations and 11 individuals who appear to have voted in multiple jurisdictions.
“We must send a clear message that election fraud won’t be tolerated,” LaRose said. “The only way to maintain Ohio’s high standard of election integrity is to enforce the law whenever it’s broken.”
The referrals stem from an investigation by the Secretary of State’s Election Integrity Unit, which reviewed the Ohio Voter Registration Database using state and federal data. The investigation uncovered evidence of 30 noncitizen registrations and 11 individuals from states including Virginia, Arizona, and Illinois who appear to have voted in several jurisdictions.
LaRose stressed the importance of enforcing election law in order to maintain public trust and confidence in our system of government. “Critics of Ohio’s election integrity efforts may try to minimize the significance of these referrals, as though some small amount of election crime is acceptable,” he wrote in a letter to Attorney General Dave Yost.
Under Ohio law, the Secretary of State is authorized and charged with investigating election law violations and then to refer them to the attorney general or prosecuting attorneys for possible prosecution. Since taking office in 2019, LaRose has referred hundreds of such matters to county prosecutors. Clearly he intends to continue these efforts until election fraud or interference is altogether eliminated in Ohio.
While the number of referrals has increased, the actual incidence of voter fraud remains low. According to the Ohio Capital Journal, less than 3% of the 641 cases of potential voter fraud referred by LaRose’s office resulted in charges.
LaRose has defended his office’s work, stating that even isolated incidents of fraud must be addressed to uphold the integrity of elections. “The only way to maintain Ohio’s high standard of election integrity is to enforce the law whenever it’s broken,” he said.
The referred cases are now under review by the Ohio Attorney General’s office and attorneys general in the other states involved. Further investigations and potential prosecutions will be carried out by the appropriate authorities.
This development underscores the ongoing efforts by Ohio election officials to detect and address instances of voter fraud, reinforcing the state’s commitment to fair and secure elections. Public trust in election integrity is the bedrock upon which the nation rests.
