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Columbus, OH – Frank LaRose is being called out by the Cleveland.com Editorial Board for putting his “thumb on the scale of fairness – again” after rewriting the November ballot language to include confusing and misleading language. 

LaRose has already been called out for “playing dirty” to mislead and silence Ohioans ahead of the November election and has said that even if the amendment passes, he would overrule the majority of Ohioans who oppose banning abortion by voting for a national abortion ban if elected to the Senate.

Read more: 

Cleveland.com: Putting full text of reproductive rights amendment before voters would end fight over ballot language: Editorial

Editorial Board

September 8, 2023

• Republicans on the Ballot Board, led by Secretary of State Frank LaRose made the changes last month, inserting phrases that backers of the abortion rights amendment – formally known as The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety amendment — say amount to propaganda.

• Putting the full amendment on the ballot is the simple fix.

• A change amounting to no more than 20 words in length on the ballot could make the lawsuit go away.

• LaRose is Ohio’s highest elected officer charged with monitoring elections and keeping them fair and impartial. He should make it happen.

• The issue’s supporters say the Ballot Board summary is intentionally misleading and fails to meet the standards required by Ohio law.

• At the least, it’s an attempt by LaRose to have his thumb on the scale of fairness – again. That behavior was on full display ahead of the August vote on a proposed constitutional amendment that would have made it harder, if not impossible, for citizens to amend their state constitution.

• Ohio voters saw through that deception, trouncing that Issue 1 at the polls. LaRose was clear that he had viewed the issue as a way to thwart attempts to enshrine abortion rights. A candidate for the U.S. Senate, he sought donations totaling millions of dollars from his GOP Senate rivals in support of the issue.

• In his Senate campaign materials now, LaRose touts his anti-abortion stance as part of his platform, bragging that he is the only candidate with a 100% voting record against abortion rights.

• The solution here is so simple. Print the proposed amendment on the ballot. The coalition has asked the Supreme Court to order that be done. LaRose should just make it happen.

Huffington Post: Ohio Republicans Twist Ballot Language For Pro-Choice Provision In Likely Attempt To Confuse Voters

Alanna Vagianos

August 25, 2023

• In November, voters will consider a ballot initiative that seeks to enshrine abortion rights and other reproductive freedoms into Ohio’s Constitution. But the five-member Ohio Ballot Board, led by anti-choice advocate and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, on Thursday approved anti-choice language to be used in the initiative, which may confuse voters.

• “Secretary of State Frank LaRose today exploited the Ohio Ballot Board process in a last-ditch effort to deceive and confuse Ohio voters ahead of the November vote on reproductive freedom,” Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, one of the main groups advocating for the amendment, said in a press release on Thursday.

• LaRose gave the deciding vote to approve the language in a 3-2 final vote. The Ohio secretary of state was a vocal advocate for the August ballot measure, Issue 1 ― an initiative to raise the threshold for altering the state constitution from a simple statewide majority vote to 60%. Although a simple majority has been the standard in Ohio for over 100 years, anti-abortion advocates in the state called for a special election to raise the vote threshold in a preemptive attempt to block the pro-choice constitutional amendment.

WVXU: Analysis: Ohio GOP’s re-write of abortion rights ballot language is unlikely to make a difference

Howard Wilkinson

August 30, 2023

• In the Aug. 8 special election, Frank LaRose, Ohio’s Republican secretary of state, was told in no uncertain terms that voters had no use for his plan to raise the bar for passing constitutional amendments to 60%.

• Issue 1 failed miserably; and was clearly aimed at making it harder for abortion rights advocates to pass the reproductive rights amendment on the November ballot, which would write access to abortion into the Ohio Constitution.

• LaRose was left with egg on his face.

• But the secretary of state/U.S. Senate candidate wasn’t done.

• Now, the Republican majority of his five-member Ohio Ballot Board — chaired by LaRose and tasked with the job of approving ballot language — stands accused of trying to stack the deck against the abortion rights amendment by inserting what abortion rights groups call misleading, inaccurate and inflammatory language into what should be a simple statement of fact.

Ohio Capital Journal: LaRose pushes unfair, inaccurate language for voters on November Ohio reproductive rights amendment

Marilou Johanek

August 29, 2023

• Lawmakers rushed a game-changing ballot amendment to an August election (in violation of state law) to sabotage the abortion rights amendment in November. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose spearheaded the shady maneuver to cancel self-governance by majority vote — just to keep a majority of Ohio voters from having their say on abortion access as a constitutional right. 

• The state’s elections chief actively campaigned to end the only enduring recourse of ordinary citizens to circumvent a crooked government because he didn’t want an abortion rights amendment to pass. Sit with that for a minute. The guy who administers the electoral system in Ohio tried to undercut the electorate.

• Frank LaRose, the public servant responsible for conducting free and fair elections in Ohio is playing dirty to win. It’s wrong. But it’s only the beginning. Issue 1 was a preview of the depths Ohio Republicans will go to when they can’t persuade. They cheat.

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Columbus, OH – In case you missed it, WVXU’s Howard Wilkinson today penned an analysis outlining Ohio Republicans’ repeated refusal to follow the law on redistricting, pushing through GOP-gerrymandered maps and letting politicians choose their voters rather than the other way around. As the redistricting process is set to begin again, Ohio Democrats are reminding any out-of-touch GOP politicians looking to once again gerrymander our state: voters are watching and ready to remove them from the process if they ignore the law.

“Then there is the question that LaRose and his fellow Republicans on the commission will not answer: You have known since May of last year — 16 months ago — that you would have to approve new maps. Why wait until the last minute? The only possible answer is that they wanted to create a false sense of urgency to do something they fully intended to do all along — pass maps with little public input, with no real role for the commission Democrats to play, all in order to preserve the Republican dominance of Ohio’s government. There is no other way to explain it,” writes Wilkinson. 

“Last year, Republicans on the commission repeatedly ignored Court rulings and deadlines, stalling and delaying – despite repeated calls from Democrats to meet – and ultimately relying on politically-friendly judges to temporarily rubberstamp their maps and implement GOP-gerrymandered maps for 2022. Now, as we begin the process again, voters will be watching carefully to see if these out-of-touch politicians once again try to force through gerrymandered maps in a shortened timeframe that limits public input and rigs Ohio’s democracy against voters. If they do, we are ready to take the process out of the hands of politicians and back into the hands of the people,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Read more about how Republicans have broken the redistricting process here.

And read more from Wilkson here and below:

• Once again, the best advertisement for taking Ohio’s redistricting process out of the hands of elected officials is the Republican majority on the Ohio Redistricting Commission.

• The seven members of the commission — five of whom are Republican elected officials — will be meeting in a hastily-arranged session Wednesday to begin the process of coming up with new maps for state legislative districts in 2024.

• Any maps produced by the Republicans now will likely be rubber-stamped by the court’s GOP majority.

• So why bother to produce balanced maps that truly reflect the partisan split of Ohio? They are free to adopt maps that will not only set in stone the GOP supermajority in the legislature but satisfy their own personal political interests.

• “There is no sincere interest in a sincere process, but it is best not to just come out and say so,” said David Niven, professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati. “Therefore, it’s time to issue urgent deadlines.”

• Then there is the question that LaRose and his fellow Republicans on the commission will not answer: You have known since May of last year — 16 months ago — that you would have to approve new maps. Why wait until the last minute?

• The only possible answer is that they wanted to create a false sense of urgency to do something they fully intended to do all along — pass maps with little public input, with no real role for the commission Democrats to play, all in order to preserve the Republican dominance of Ohio’s government.

• There is no other way to explain it.

• Is this what 71% of Ohio voters wanted in 2015 when they created the commission as a redistricting reform measure?

• Not even close.

• Maybe it’s time for Ohio to stop letting the politicians chose their voters and let the voters choose their politicians.

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Taxpayers Footing Steep Bill to Move LaRose’s Secretary of State Office to Campaign HQ

Columbus, OH – Frank LaRose still owes Ohioans answers about his latest scandal after a report showed he is moving the Ohio Secretary of State Office to the same building as his Senate Campaign headquarters, costing Ohio taxpayers over half a million dollars. The Ohio Secretary of State office has been in the same location for decades – until LaRose started running for U.S. Senate.

As details about LaRose’s latest scandal are exposed, he must answer:

1. You claim the lease was set to expire – but was there no offer to renew it? Was the proposed rent less expensive than the overall cost of moving the entire Secretary of State’s office to a new building?
2. What was the process for deciding that you wanted to move the Secretary of State’s office from where it’s been for over 20 years?  And given how many buildings are located in Columbus, how do you explain the fact that you decided to put it in the same building your campaign is working out of?
3. Will you release the full details of your monthly lease for your campaign?  How much is your campaign paying per square foot compared to what the state is paying to be in the same building?
4. Was your campaign lease negotiated before or after you began to consider moving the Secretary of State’s office?
5. Have you put a process in place to ensure it is clear when you are at work as Secretary of State versus when you are at work campaigning for Senate? Will you commit now to release weekly schedules so Ohioans know how you’re spending your time?

Read / Watch More:

WATCH HERE

WCMH: “[LaRose’s] staffers say they considered three other buildings. NBC4 asked why none of those were chosen, but we have not heard back.”

WCMH: Secretary of state moves offices for the first time in nearly two decades

Natalie Fahmy

September 7, 2023

• The secretary of state is moving offices for the first time in nearly two decades – at least. A spokesperson for the secretary of state said the search for a new building was prompted because their current lease is ending.

• Right now, the office is on 180 E. Broad Street, but they are making a move to a new building on Civic Center Drive. It is the same address that Secretary of State Frank Larose (R-Ohio) lists for his U.S. Senate campaign, according to the Federal Election Commission.

• The move to the new building will cost $400,000 up front, in taxpayer dollars, to “to prepare and ready the space for the Office of the Secretary of State.” Plus, an additional $200,000 over the next two years for that same purpose.

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Columbus, OH – It’s been another busy week in the Ohio Senate Slugfest. This week, Matt Dolan was caught red-handed criticizing Donald Trump and his primary candidates (Reminder: Dolan isn’t the only #OHSEN Republican to downplay Trump’s endorsement…) throwing more gasoline on this primary fire. Dolan is also in hot water after a new report shows he broke his pledge to financially support other GOP candidates through his leadership PAC and is instead funding his own campaign consultants. And no shocker here: Frank LaRose owes Ohioans answers after his latest scandal costs Ohioans.

Here’s what you missed this week in what has already been called one of the “messiest, “most expensive” and “bruising” primary battles in the country.

TRUMP CONTINUES TO CAUSE CHAOS IN #OHSEN SLUGFEST

Donald Trump’s looming presence continues to throw gasoline on the Ohio Senate slugfest fire. This week Matt Dolan was caught red-handed claiming whoever Trump endorses in the race will eventually lose while slamming LaRose and Moreno in the same breath.

But Dolan isn’t the only candidate who has been caught in Donald Trump’s ire. Frank LaRose also downplayed Donald Trump’s endorsement, saying “it doesn’t carry the same weight it used to” and was caught in hot water after making “kind remarks” about Trump-nemesis Mike Pence. LaRose refused to endorse the former President in 2016, 2020, and the first week of his Senate campaign.

Read more from The Messenger.

DOLAN BREAKS HIS PLEDGE TO FINANCIALLY SUPPORT OTHER GOP CANDIDATES – INSTEAD PAYS OFF HIS CONSULTANTS

It was a rough week for Matt Dolan as a new report revealed that he broke his pledge to use his leadership PAC to support other GOP candidates – instead funneling cash to his own campaign consultants. In fact, “more than one year after its launch, Ohio Matters has spent more money on Dolan’s campaign consultants than candidates.”

Details on Dolan’s “public relations gimmick” follow reports that Dolan is using a “cheap loan” with a too-good-to-be-true interest rate to bankroll his Senate campaign.

LAROSE OWES OHIOANS ANSWERS AFTER HIS LATEST SCANDAL

The Ohio Secretary of State Office has been in the same location for decades – until LaRose started running for U.S. Senate. Now a new report outlines how LaRose is moving the Ohio Secretary of State Office to the same building as his Senate Campaign headquarters, costing Ohio taxpayers over half a million dollars.

WATCH HERE

WCMH: “[LaRose’s] staffers say they considered three other buildings. NBC4 asked why none of those were chosen, but we have not heard back.”

As details about LaRose’s latest scandal are exposed, he must answer:

You claim the lease was set to expire – but was there no offer to renew it? Was the proposed rent less expensive than the overall cost of moving the entire Secretary of State’s office to a new building?

What was the process for deciding that you wanted to move the Secretary of State’s office from where it’s been for over 20 years?  And given how many buildings are located in Columbus, how do you explain the fact that you decided to put it in the same building your campaign is working out of?

Will you release the full details of your monthly lease for your campaign?  How much is your campaign paying per square foot compared to what the state is paying to be in the same building?

Was your campaign lease negotiated before or after you began to consider moving the Secretary of State’s office?

Have you put a process in place to ensure it is clear when you are at work as Secretary of State versus when you are at work campaigning for Senate? Will you commit now to release weekly schedules so Ohioans know how you’re spending your time?

Quote of the Week:

Matt Dolan: “But if you seek the endorsement of President Trump right now,” he said, “I don’t believe, A) I don’t think you can win, and B) I don’t think you’re acting in the best interest of all of you.”

That’s gonna leave a mark!

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The Ohio Secretary of State Office Has Been in Same Location for Decades – Until LaRose Started Running for U.S. Senate

Columbus, OH – Frank LaRose owes Ohioans answers about his latest scandal as a new report shows that he is moving the Ohio Secretary of State Office to the same building as his Senate Campaign headquarters, costing Ohio taxpayers over half a million dollars. 

This new scandal raises a series of questions of whether LaRose is using his government position to benefit his campaign for U.S. Senate.

“Frank LaRose is not working for Ohioans and his latest controversy is raising serious questions,” said ODP spokesperson Reeves Oyster. “This is just the latest example that LaRose will do whatever it takes to advance his political career, regardless of how it hurts – or costs – Ohioans.”

As details about LaRose’s latest scandal are exposed, he must answer:

1. You claim the lease was set to expire – but was there no offer to renew it? Was the proposed rent less expensive than the overall cost of moving the entire Secretary of State’s office to a new building?
2. What was the process for deciding that you wanted to move the Secretary of State’s office from where it’s been for over 20 years?  And given how many buildings are located in Columbus, how do you explain the fact that you decided to put it in the same building your campaign is working out of?
3. Will you release the full details of your monthly lease for your campaign?  How much is your campaign paying per square foot compared to what the state is paying to be in the same building?
4. Was your campaign lease negotiated before or after you began to consider moving the Secretary of State’s office?
5. Have you put a process in place to ensure it is clear when you are at work as Secretary of State versus when you are at work campaigning for Senate? Will you commit now to release weekly schedules so Ohioans know how you’re spending your time?

Read / Watch More:

WATCH HERE

WCMH: “[LaRose’s] staffers say they considered three other buildings. NBC4 asked why none of those were chosen, but we have not heard back.”

WCMH: Secretary of state moves offices for the first time in nearly two decades

Natalie Fahmy

September 7, 2023

• The secretary of state is moving offices for the first time in nearly two decades – at least. A spokesperson for the secretary of state said the search for a new building was prompted because their current lease is ending.

• Right now, the office is on 180 E. Broad Street, but they are making a move to a new building on Civic Center Drive. It is the same address that Secretary of State Frank Larose (R-Ohio) lists for his U.S. Senate campaign, according to the Federal Election Commission. 

• The move to the new building will cost $400,000 up front, in taxpayer dollars, to “to prepare and ready the space for the Office of the Secretary of State.” Plus, an additional $200,000 over the next two years for that same purpose.

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