Ohio Secretary of State LaRose asks 20 counties to investigate alleged election violations

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said Monday he has referred evidence of suspected election violations to prosecutors in 20 counties, including Tuscarawas County.

“We take every allegation of wrongdoing in our elections seriously, whether it’s a fake signature on a petition, a fraudulent voter registration form or a stolen vote,” LaRose said in a news release.

Voter fraud is rare, numerous reports have found. Many instances of alleged fraud turn out to be the mistakes of voters or administrators, according to New York University's Brennan Center for Justice .

Dan Lusheck, deputy communications director with the Ohio Secretary of State's Office, told the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau the violations involve petition forms to grant minor party status and to place a constitutional amendment about redistricting on the November ballot.

He said violations also involved fraudulent voter registration forms submitted by canvassers working for Black Fork Strategies, an Ohio-based company that offers voter registration and canvassing services.

Lusheck said the office suspects people circulated petitions and attested to signatures that are "blatantly false, forged, and/or contained fictitious names."

What do the groups involved say about this move?

Loretta Kane with Black Fork Strategies said the company has fully cooperated with boards of elections and the Ohio Secretary of State's Office on all information related to the voter registration program.

“Because we are committed to fair elections, we have provided Secretary LaRose’s office information regarding former canvassers and our internal quality control process," Kane said in a statement. “Throughout 2023 and 2024, Black Fork Strategies has not engaged in any large-scale petition operations, nor did we receive any inquiries regarding petition work from the secretary of state’s office nor any of the county boards of elections."

Spokesperson Chris Davey with Citizens Not Politicians, the ballot campaign behind the November redistricting amendment issue, said in a statement that Black Fork Strategies was not a paid circulator for the amendment and none of the signatures the campaign handed in were collected by Black Fork Strategies.

"None of this has any impact on the established validity of the more than a half-million valid signatures that Secretary of State LaRose certified to place us on the Nov. 5 ballot," he said.

What are the counties involved?

Luschek said referrals were made to the following Ohio counties:

• Butler
• Champaign
• Cuyahoga
• Delaware
• Fairfield
• Franklin
• Hamilton
• Harrison
• Jackson
• Knox
• Licking
• Mercer
• Montgomery
• Richland
• Stark
• Summit
• Trumbull
• Tuscarawas
• Warren
• Wayne

USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau reporter Jessie Balmert contributed reporting.

Erin Glynn is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Secretary of State LaRose asks 20 counties to investigate alleged election violations