18 Ohio Voters Could Face Charges for Casting Multiple Ballots in 2018
Ohio’s Secretary of State on Wednesday referred the names of 18 voters to prosecutors for allegedly casting multiple votes in the 2018 mid-term election.
Secretary Frank LaRose said the voters were identified through the Electronic Registration Information Center, a coalition of states sharing data in order to improve the accuracy of voter rolls and enhance voter confidence in elections.
Using that data, the Ohio Secretary of State’s office was able to identify 10 individuals who voted in another state prior to casting their ballot a second time in Ohio.
The other eight voted first in Ohio before voting again elsewhere.
“One person. One vote. State law makes it abundantly clear that Ohioans may only vote once in an election. The reason is simple and obvious: any additional vote diminishes the value of other votes,” LaRose said. “One of the big reasons voter fraud is so rare is because states are stepping up to enforce the law whenever it is broken.”
The review utilized the data provided by partner states to cross-match with voter history in Ohio. Each potential violation was then investigated individually in coordination with the Secretary of State’s office or local jurisdiction in the additional state.
Under state law, the criminal act is the second vote. Thus, another state’s attorney general will have jurisdiction when the second vote took place in their state and all relevant documentation will be sent to their respective office, LaRose said.
In instances where the Ohio vote was second, relevant documentation is being referred to both the Ohio attorney general and appropriate county prosecutor for investigation. It will be up to those offices to determine whether the identified individuals should be prosecuted.
