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Columbus, OH – Ohio taxpayers could be footing a bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars after Frank LaWhoops “screws up big-time” by sending the wrong ballot language to county elections officials for the August special election. 
 
This mistake comes after LaWhoops was ordered by the State Supreme Court to rewrite misleading ballot language and has been criticized for “lying” about State Issue 1 and following special interests’ “marching orders.” 

Now LaWhoops must answer: How much exactly is this mistake costing Ohio taxpayers?

WATCH MORE FROM WCMH HERE

Key Points:

• Boards of Elections in all 88 Ohio counties are scrambling to make corrections after Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office sent the wrong Issue 1 ballot language. 
   
• LaRose’s office sent the ballot language out late last week. But this Tuesday, Boards were notified they sent the wrong language. They were ordered to update ballots, management systems, and accuracy tests. 
   
• Franklin County’s Elections Director Antone White tells me his office lost hours of work and some test ballots because of the mistake. 
   
• The Ohio Democratic Party is claiming some boards printed actual ballots over many days that now have to be thrown away – costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. 
   
• We did reach out to LaRose’s office and we are waiting for comment.

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Highlight Need to Reject State Issue 1 in August, Pass Abortion Amendment in November, and Reject Out-Of-Touch Politicians in 2024

Columbus, OH — Today, the Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) hosted a virtual press conference to mark the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Chair Walters was joined by Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo to discuss the GOP’s attacks on abortion rights and the fights ahead to protect reproductive rights in August, November and next year. 

“We won’t go back to a state or a country where we don’t have the right to safe, quality reproductive care. We’re in for the fight of our lives, and Ohio Democrats aren’t backing down. We’re organizing in communities across the state and standing in solidarity with the millions of Ohioans who are ready to tell these radical Republicans: we won’t go back,” said Chair Walters.

“There’s no doubt about it: Ohio is ground zero for the fight for abortion rights in this country. Nowhere is that more clear than the race for U.S. Senate in Ohio. Next year, we have to reject whatever out-of-touch candidate makes it through this messy primary. There’s no doubt in my mind that, if elected, Bernie Moreno, Matt Dolan, and Frank LaRose would support a total abortion ban without exception in Ohio,” said Leader Russo. 

• One year after the fall of Roe, Ohio Republicans have continued their assault on reproductive rights in Ohio, sneaking through a $15 million, taxpayer-funded election in August with the goal of preventing an abortion rights ballot initiative from passing in November. Frank LaRose even said the quiet part out loud, admitting that the August election is ‘100 percent’ about abortion. 

• On the federal level, every Republican running for U.S. Senate in 2024 holds out-of-step positions on abortion, including supporting abortion bans that make no exceptions for rape or incest. 

Ohio Democrats are fighting like hell to mobilize voters to vote NO on Issue 1 in August and vote to support abortion rights in November, and have collected more than 100,000 signatures to put the abortion rights issue on the ballot this November.  

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While he’s being slammed by outlets and Ohioans from every corner of the state for “lying” about State Issue 1 and following special interests’ “marching orders,” Frank LaRose is now being called out for his sketchy shadow campaign for Ohio’s Senate seat and putting his political ambitions ahead of Ohioans.
 
The Columbus Dispatch: Frank LaRose should keep his duty
Amber Boeckman, Columbus
June 22, 2023

• I was concerned by recent reporting that shows Frank LaRose is exploiting his position as Secretary of State to raise money for another political campaign.
• As an elected official, he has a duty to keep his political ambitions separate from his responsibilities. By sending fundraising letters disguised as official letters from the Secretary of State’s office, it’s clear he’s more focused on setting himself up to run for higher office than doing his job.
• LaRose should begin behaving above board and stop the sketchy political tactics. Anything less shows he is not focused on doing the job he was elected to do and that he is putting his political ambitions ahead of Ohioans.

5 Questions Frank LaRose Must Answer

New reports find after Frank LaWhoops “screws up big-time,” Ohio taxpayers could be footing a bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars while election officials are “scrambling” to reprint corrected ballots by Friday’s deadline.
 
LaWhoops was ordered by the State Supreme Court to rewrite ballot language and then sent the wrong information to county elections officials two days before ballots must be printed and sent to military members and overseas voters. It’s just the latest move LaWhoops has taken that costs Ohioans: he has already been criticized for “lying” about State Issue 1 and for following special interests’ “marching orders.” 
 
“After pushing for a corrupt, special interest power grab, Frank LaWhoops’s incompetence is now costing Ohio taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said ODP Spokesperson Reeves Oyster. “LaWhoops owes Ohioans answers immediately on his blunder.” 
 
Here are five questions Frank LaWhoops must answer about his incompetence potentially costing Ohioans hundreds of thousands of dollars:

1. How much exactly will your mistake cost Ohio taxpayers?
2. Are you too focused on running a “shadow campaign” than on your official responsibilities? Or was this mistake the result of being more responsive to the out-of-state, dark money funders of your campaign than the people of Ohio? 
3. Which counties will have to rush to reprint ballots as a result of your blunder? 
4. Can you confirm that all voters – no matter their county – will see correct language after your mistake?
5. How will you confirm every military member and overseas voter who requested an absentee ballot will be sent the correct language by tomorrow’s deadline? 

Columbus, OH – Days before the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, new reporting details that every Republican running for Ohio’s Senate seat holds out-of-step positions on abortion, including supporting abortion bans that make no exceptions for rape or incest. 
 
Here’s what you need to know about #OHSEN Republicans and abortion: 

• At his campaign launch, Bernie Moreno said he is “unequivocally pro-life.” He does not support exceptions for rape, incest, or life of the mother.
   
• Frank LaRose celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade and has supported an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest.
   
• Matt Dolan celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, calling it “exciting.”

Read more:

Huffington Post: GOP Senate Recruits Back The Same Extreme Abortion Positions That Cost The Party In 2022
Liz Skalka and Igor Bobic
June 21, 2023 

• Polls have repeatedly shown Republicans losing ground among independents on the abortion issue. 
• A Public Religion Research Institute survey released earlier this year found a majority of people in all seven Trump-won states that the GOP could target — Arizona, Montana, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — think abortion should be legal in most or all cases. 
• In Ohio, meanwhile, entrepreneur Bernie Moreno is positioning himself as the Trumpiest candidate in a GOP primary to take on Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. 
• Moreno has said he’s “100% pro-life with no exceptions.”
• “Conservative Republicans should never back down from their belief that life begins at conception and that abortion is the murder of an innocent baby,” Moreno tweeted last year.
• Matt Dolan, a state senator and declared 2024 candidate who has spoken out against Trump, has supported anti-abortion measures in the legislature, as had possible Senate candidate and Secretary of State Frank LaRose.