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Ohio's Top Elections Official Might Review Past Lists Of Removed Voters

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose
Jo Ingles
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose

Ohio’s Secretary of State says he’ll release the list of registrations removed from voting rolls this month to various voter groups so they can re-register people on that list by the October 7 registration deadline.  And after he's dealt with that, he says he might check past voter removal lists for errors. 

Voting rights groups have been asking Frank LaRose to review past lists of removed voters to see if some were taken off the rolls by mistake. He says he’s focused on the list of voters removed on September 6. But after that's done, he’s not ruling out looking back at lists of voters removed before he took office in January.

“It’s entirely possible that the same problems that we found have occurred in the past and have gone unnoticed. It’s entirely possible. The law of averages tells you that," LaRose says.

Voter rights groups have raised questions about the accuracy of these lists. Some mistakes were discovered after LaRose gave the lists to about two dozen community groups this summer. They tried to locate some of the voters on the lists to get them to make their registrations current. LaRose says his office has been working with counties to make sure those problems are corrected.

LaRose wants a bill that will allow a non-partisan board to certify the voter registration process. He's also advocating for automatic updates to voter registrations when Ohioans renew their drivers' licenses. He says the current system that involves four vendors in 88 counties lacks uniformity. 

Copyright 2019 The Statehouse News Bureau

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment.