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Aug 04 2020

Voting Advocates Release Letter to Secretary LaRose Laying Out Steps He Can Immediately Take For Safe and Accessible Election

Voting rights advocates call on Sec. LaRose to use his authority to ensure Ohio’s election in November is safe, secure, and accessible for all voters.

Columbus, OH – Today, voting advocates representing a diverse intersection of voters across Ohio gathered to release a letter to Secretary of State Frank LaRose laying out four policies he can immediately and unilaterally enact to make November’s election safe and accessible during the COVID-19 crisis. 

“I do not hear from our leaders that all of our votes matter. I am here to say we will not allow this to happen. We must raise our voices to Secretary LaRose and demand he takes action,” said Rev. Chris Attaway of Tabernacle Church in Cleveland. 

The letter is online here and is signed by more than a dozen organizations. It lays out four policies that Secretary LaRose has the authority to enact immediately:

  1. Prepay postage on absentee ballots and applications.
  2. Create a statewide online absentee request form and phone number. 
  3. Encourage county boards of elections to offer multiple dropboxes.
  4. Issue a directive to limit polling place consolidation.


“It is clear that Ohioans cannot rely on their state legislature to pass needed election reforms to make sure we have a safe, secure, and accessible general election. Fortunately, Secretary of State Frank LaRose has existing legal authorities to implement policies that will significantly ease voters’ burden of safely casting a ballot during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” said ACLU of Ohio Policy Strategist Collin Marozzi. “There is a leadership void in our state, and we are calling on Secretary LaRose to use the powers of his office to reaffirm the fundamental right of Ohio voters to make their voice heard.” 

A recording of the press call is online here. (Passcode: 1P&Yd=8U)

The letter and advocacy efforts come in response to massive problems during the Ohio primary election this spring. 

Rev. Brian Cash of East Mount Zion Baptist Church in Cleveland expressed concern that older members of his congregation would be unable to navigate the confusing absentee system. “We must push Secretary of State LaRose to send prepaid postage to ensure that all of our community members are able to participate in this year’s election,” he said. 

Kalesha Scott, a recent Central State University graduate and Ohio Student Association organizer, said: “Many students were unable to vote because of issues with the absentee ballot system, including myself. These four steps that Secretary LaRose can and should take would greatly help college students and young people making their voices heard.” 

“While some voters were able to navigate the system during the primary, countless other Ohioans were unable to cast their ballots,” said Petee Talley of the Unity Coalition and Black Trade Unionists. “The General Assembly has had plenty of time to make our election safe and accessible, but has failed to do so. Time has run out. So we are calling on Secretary of State LaRose to do the right thing, and exercise his authority to take these steps.”

The letter is available online at:
http://innovationohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/LaRose-Letter-Aug-4.pdf

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Written by Michael McGovern · Categorized: 2020 Election, coronavirus, Democracy · Tagged: 2020 election, coronavirus, Frank LaRose, larose, pandemic, Voter Suppression, Voting, Voting Rights

Jul 24 2020

How Ohio’s Secretary of State Can Ensure a Safe & Successful General Election

Innovation Ohio Calls on Secretary of State Frank LaRose To Act

In the face of a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ohio must work aggressively to provide multiple ways for Ohioans to vote in the November election that are safe and convenient. The problems that surfaced in the delayed March primary — a complicated process of requesting and returning a ballot, difficulty securing postage and lack of awareness of vote-by-mail procedures – all remain unaddressed. With the legislature at a standstill thanks to a federal corruption probe, it is up to Ohio Secretary of State LaRose, working with local Boards of Elections, to ensure that all modes of voting are easily accessible to all registered voters.

Read The Full Report

We urge the Secretary of State to exercise his authority and use funding already available to:

  • Include and pay for return postage on all absentee ballot applications and ballots
  • Allow voters to submit an absentee ballot request online
  • Establish multiple secure drop boxes for absentee ballot return
  • Commit to resist efforts to close polling locations, which only results in longer lines and more crowded indoor spaces.

You can download the full report by clicking the orange “download full report” button in the sidebar of this page or by clicking the blue “Read the full report” button above.

Click here to sign the petition from All In For Ohio urging Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to take these four actions to save our November election from chaos and voter suppression.

Written by admin · Categorized: coronavirus, Democracy, Statehouse Update · Tagged: 2020 election, all in for ohio, all in for ohio voters, election, election 2020, Frank LaRose, general election, hb680, householder, io report, larose, Larry Householder, ohio secretary of state, petition, report, reports, secretary of state, Statehouse

Jul 24 2020

New Report: With Ohio Legislature In Chaos, Frank LaRose Must Act

We’re back with a mid-week update to give you the backstory on Innovation Ohio’s latest analysis, outlining four actions Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose can take today to make the November election safer & more accessible.

Ohio Senate Refuses to Pass Bad Voting Bill, Calls For More Hearings on HB680

Now it’s up to Secretary of State Frank LaRose to make sure the November election is safe for all Ohio voters.

In Monday’s update, we wrote about an Ohio Senate hearing and possible vote on a bill (House Bill 680) to move up the deadline to request an absentee ballot in November. The bill would also unnecessarily tie the hands of the Secretary of State, disallowing him from doing a number of things to make it easier to vote by mail. A lot has happened since then.

Many Senators and witnesses, including Sec. LaRose, support the idea to move up the deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot to ensure mail delays don’t result in voters receiving it too late to return it by the deadline. However, other provisions in the bill — revoking the Secretary’s authority to provide return postage for ballots and failing to explicitly authorize a way for voters to request their absentee ballot online — appear unpopular among Senators on a bipartisan basis, and the Chairman held the bill over for future hearings.

If the Senate makes any changes to the bill, it would need action by the House in order to become law – a 90-day process that already puts us in late October.
On Tuesday, as HB680 was being heard, news broke of a $60 million corruption scandal involving the House Speaker.

Larry Householder has resisted calls to step down and members of his leadership team continue to oppose calls to expel him. Until the House replaces the Speaker — who as a condition of his release on felony charges — cannot travel or be in contact with any potential witnesses in the case — it cannot function to do the work of the people.

Innovation Ohio Calls on Secretary of State Frank LaRose To Act

Read the full report here

In order to have a safe and accessible election, Ohio voters have only one hope left and it’s Secretary of State Frank LaRose. Today we published an analysis showing that the Secretary has the authority, without an act of the legislature, to:

  • Include and pay for return postage on all absentee ballot applications and ballots
  • Allow voters to submit an absentee ballot request online
  • Establish multiple secure drop boxes for absentee ballot return
  • Commit to resist efforts to close polling locations, which only results in longer lines and more crowded indoor spaces

Read our analysis of Frank LaRose’s legal authority to protect the November election

Take Action

Sign All In For Ohio’s petition

Sign the petition

It’s time for LaRose to act with or without the assistance of the legislature. All In For Ohio has created a petition you can sign to send a message to Secretary of State LaRose that our elections are too important to be held up thanks to a dysfunctional legislature. 

Sign the petition today to send a message to Frank LaRose that it’s time to act.

Written by Terra Goodnight · Categorized: 2020 Election, coronavirus, Democracy, Statehouse Update · Tagged: 2020 election, corruption, election 2020, Frank LaRose, HB6, hb680, householder, larose, Larry Householder, Ohio Senate, report, secretary of state, Speaker Larry Householder, statehouse update, vote by mail, voter registration

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