October 6, 2022
Cleveland, OH — Yesterday, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced he is reorganizing his office to form a so-called “public integrity” unit to include investigators — potentially former police officers — with the authority to issue subpoenas on elections-related crimes and interview people under oath. In response to his decision, All Voting is Local Action Ohio State Director Kayla Griffin issued the following statement:
“On the Secretary’s own admission, election violations in Ohio are incredibly rare and statewide results showed a near-perfect accuracy rate in the 2020 presidential election. Why, then, is he launching what amounts to a voter intimidation squad that would police Ohioans through needless subpoenas and the potential use of former law enforcement officers?
“This new unit is a waste of taxpayers’ hard earned dollars and seeks to address a problem that doesn’t exist. Secretary LaRose should instead trust the very election officials he oversees to continue to do their jobs and instead direct these resources to counties so they can smoothly carry out the 2022 midterm elections.”