LaRose Asking for Votes as He Attacks the Right to Vote
May 17, 2021
Columbus, OH — Today, Frank LaRose announced his bid for re-election as Ohio’s top elections official at the same time he’s playing politics with Ohio’s elections. LaRose is promoting regressive legislation that rolls back voting rights in Ohio while at the same time trying to claim credit for the 2020 election. If LaRose believes the 2020 elections were safe and secure, why push radical legislation that puts unnecessary burdens on voters in the name of ‘election security’? Politics.
On Saturday, several speakers at a Strongsville GOP event called for a primary opponent for LaRose. As an attempt to win those Republicans back, he’s pushing this anti-voter legislation as a wink and a nod to those who believe the election was stolen from President Trump. That’s why he remains silent as candidates in his own party continue to claim the election was stolen, as Josh Mandel did on Saturday.
“Frank LaRose is playing politics with Ohioans’ right to vote and doesn’t deserve another term as Ohio Secretary of State. Any politician that would push legislation that rolls back Ohioans’ right to vote has no business overseeing elections in our state. LaRose has proven that he’s willing to do or say anything to help himself, including negotiate away Ohioans’ rights at the ballot box,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party
The anti-voter bill LaRose is pushing, described as ‘fixing a problem that doesn’t exist’ is more extreme than the widely-panned Florida and Georgia versions. The legislation would make it harder for Ohioans to vote by:
- Eliminating a day of early voting on the Monday before Election Day,
- Cutting off Ohioans’ ability to request an absentee ballot 10 days out from an election, removing a week that Ohioans were previously able to request an absentee ballot,
- Requiring two forms of ID for online absentee ballot requests,
- Prohibiting anyone but the Secretary of State from providing prepaid postage for absentee ballot request returns and providing no funding for the Secretary to be able to do so,
- Codifying Frank LaRose’s nonsensical limit of one dropbox location per county that can only be used in cases of emergency, but making a confusing exception to the rule 10 days out from an election, and
- Forcing Ohioans to opt-in to ‘automated’ voter registration through the BMV, meaning voter registration isn’t automated at all.