Secretary of State Frank LaRose is fond of saying that “it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat” in Ohio elections. But his recent — and not-so-recent — conduct seems to contradict both halves of that formulation, a watchdog says.
Just two months before a presidential election, the state’s top elections officer continues to change the rules in ways that make it more difficult for some Ohioans to vote — particularly new citizens and the disabled. Meanwhile, he’s supposed to conduct elections neutrally, but the things he’s done concerning the state’s extreme partisan gerrymandering are clearly biased in favor of his own party and his friends, the watchdog said.
LaRose on Friday issued an order that effectively banned any of the already-limited set of people who can deliver a disabled person’s ballot to a drop box from doing so. He now requires people providing assistance to go to the board of elections during hours when it’s open and sign an attestation that they’re dropping off a ballot.
LaRose also sent a letter to legislative leaders urging them to eliminate drop boxes altogether. He said it was to prevent a practice known as “ballot harvesting” — or when a person delivers ballots on behalf of others.
LaRose and some other Republicans have claimed without evidence that it’s vulnerable to widespread fraud. A Reuters fact check of the 2022 election found no such evidence, despite the claims that have been made about it.
The secretary of state, whose office didn’t respond to questions, also claims without evidence that noncitizen voting is a big concern, and he recently completed an audit that flagged possible noncitizen voting. The Capital Journal on Wednesday reported that at least two new citizens who were flagged were later sent letters making it sound as if the state’s strict voter ID law was more strict than it actually is.
LaRose has also conducted aggressive purges of the voter rolls that critics say disproportionately affect communities of color….
LaRose wrote his letter encouraging lawmakers to eliminate drop boxes in response to that ruling. In it, he suggests that disabled Ohioans can’t be trusted to vote for themselves and that family members should have the right to supervise them.
“Unfortunately, this (court) decision does not provide relief to a family who believes their disabled relative is receiving ballot assistance without their knowledge, approval, or input, or who may have been coerced or misguided by individuals attempting to ‘assist’ their voting decisions,” the secretary of state wrote.
Then LaRose — a supporter of former President Donald Trump — accused the League of Women Voters of wanting to take advantage of disabled voters so it can steal elections.
“I suspect this is exactly the outcome the LWV intended,” he wrote. “Under the guise of assisting the disabled, their legal strategy seeks to make Ohio’s elections less secure and more vulnerable to cheating, especially as it relates to the use of drop boxes. The security of the delivery of absentee ballots remains paramount, so this leaves us with the obvious question of a remedy.”
Catherine Turcer, executive director of the watchdog group Common Cause Ohio, said she was flabbergasted that LaRose would want to restrict disabled Ohioans’ ability to vote.
“It’s actually fairly shocking that the secretary of state wants to make it harder for disabled people’s ballots to be counted,” she said. “The secretary of state is the chief elections official. Lots of us are walking around. We’re completely able-bodied and we can vote, no problem. But there for the grace of God go I. Any of us at any point could become disabled and want to cast a ballot and not necessarily have a relative to get it to the Board of Elections.”