Current:Home > NewsDisputes over access to the vote intensify as Ohioans begin to cast ballots -Elevate Capital Network
Disputes over access to the vote intensify as Ohioans begin to cast ballots
View
Date:2025-04-24 11:27:24
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Several disputes over voter rights in Ohio were unresolved Tuesday as the state began accepting early ballots in this fall’s election for president, a key U.S. Senate race and a redistricting measure.
Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose had not yet responded to Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, which notified him last week that voters were being systematically removed from the rolls in several counties as a result of third-party challenges. The advocacy groups alleged the actions violate provisions of the National Voting Registration Act.
LaRose’s office said he had cast a tie vote keeping most of the challenged voters in one of the counties, Delaware, on the rolls. He is reviewing claims in three additional counties.
National groups allied with former President Donald Trump have been facilitating these citizen-powered efforts to systematically challenge the legitimacy of large numbers of voter registrations. LaRose praised their efforts and believes accurate voter rolls are a core tenet of any well-run election, said spokesman Dan Lusheck.
“Ohio runs some of the most transparent elections in the nation, and we are proud of that,” Lusheck said.
Meanwhile, minority Democrats at the Ohio Statehouse carried on questioning LaRose’s removal of 155,000 voter registration records in August. He has said the legally required actions targeted registration records of inactive, noncitizen, deceased or otherwise ineligible voters.
On Monday, state Rep. Elliot Forhan, a Cleveland-area Democrat, filed a formal challenge asking the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections to restore 741 voters in the county — a Democratic stronghold potentially pivotal in U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s tight reelection bid against Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno.
State Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney, another Democrat from the Cleveland area, sent a letter to LaRose on Tuesday reiterating her earlier request for additional records involving the office’s removal processes. Her office uncovered more than 1,000 wrongfully removed voters in Cuyahoga County alone with the help of previously released records, she said, and requested a third-party audit.
“If Frank LaRose isn’t going to ensure all eligible voters have the right to vote in Ohio, the least he can do is give me the public records, so I can do it for him,” Sweeney said in a statement.
LaRose’s office had no immediate comment.
Also yet to be resolved is the Ohio Democratic Party’s September lawsuit challenging a LaRose directive that prevents people who are helping voters with disabilities drop off their ballots from using drop boxes.
The secretary issued his order after a federal judge struck down portions of Ohio’s sweeping 2023 election law in July, allowing more classes of people to help voters with disabilities deliver their ballots. It affirmed the helpers could do so, but added requirements that they drop the ballots inside board of elections offices and sign a form vouching for their identities.
LaRose called the move a precaution against ballot harvesting. Democrats said that it is illegal.
Three of the Ohio Supreme Court’s seven justices — two Democrats and a Republican, all seeking office this fall — have recused themselves in the case. A fourth was asked to, but refused.
What to know about the 2024 Election
- Today’s news: Follow live updates from the campaign trail from the AP.
- Ground Game: Sign up for AP’s weekly politics newsletter to get it in your inbox every Monday.
- AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
The Republican National Committee and the Ohio Republican Party said Tuesday they have moved to intervene in the case.
“Secretary LaRose has taken critical steps to safeguard Ohio’s elections, but once again Democrats are trying to dismantle commonsense protections that make it easy to vote and hard to cheat,” national committee Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement. “This is yet another poorly veiled attempt to eliminate ballot safeguards and interfere right before the election — and we will stop them.”
veryGood! (8)
Related
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- New York sues SiriusXM, accusing company of making it deliberately hard to cancel subscriptions
- ICHCOIN Trading Center: Seizing Early Bull Market Opportunities
- Suspect in killing of TV news anchor's mother captured at Connecticut hotel
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- Immigration helped fuel rise in 2023 US population. Here's where the most growth happened.
- 10 American detainees released in exchange for Maduro ally in deal with Venezuela
- 2023 was a tragic and bizarre year of wildfires. Will it mark a turning point?
- Kehlani Responds to Hurtful Accusation She’s in a Cult
- Tommy DeVito pizzeria controversy, explained: Why Giants QB was in hot water
Ranking
- Vance jokes he’s checking out his future VP plane while overlapping with Harris at Wisconsin airport
- A deal on US border policy is closer than it seems. Here’s how it is shaping up and what’s at stake
- 2023 was a tragic and bizarre year of wildfires. Will it mark a turning point?
- Hospital that initially treated Irvo Otieno failed to meet care standards, investigation finds
- Kourtney Kardashian Cradles 9-Month-Old Son Rocky in New Photo
- Land of the free, home of the inefficient: appliance standards as culture war target
- Ohio prosecutor says he’s duty bound to bring miscarriage case to a grand jury
- North Korea’s Kim again threatens use of nukes as he praises troops for long-range missile launch
Recommendation
Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
Rachel McAdams Reveals Real Reason She Declined Mean Girls Reunion With Lindsay Lohan and Cast
Chris Christie outlines his national drug crisis plan, focusing on treatment and stigma reduction
Joel Embiid powers the Philadelphia 76ers past the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-113
British golfer Charley Hull blames injury, not lack of cigarettes, for poor Olympic start
Timothée Chalamet Addresses His Buzz-Worthy Date Night With Kylie Jenner at Beyoncé Concert
Judge weighs request to stop nation’s first execution by nitrogen, in Alabama
Justice Department sues Texas developer accused of luring Hispanic homebuyers into predatory loans