COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio lawmakers have come together to condemn what they say is a series of deceitful actions from Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose in regards to the upcoming election.
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), along with U.S. Representatives Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9), Joyce Beatty (D-OH-3), Tim Ryan (D-OH-13), and Marcia Fudge (D-OH-11), wrote to LaRose to call out the Ohio politician for supposedly placing alternative ballot drop boxes to be placed alongside existing drop boxes.
This comes after the group originally asked Sec. LaRose to place more ballot drop boxes in Ohio counties, which he said he didn't have the power to do despite three Ohio courts reaffirming his power to do so.
“Allowing a second drop box to be located right next to the one currently in place at county Boards of Elections is a naked attempt to provide yourself with political cover, in response to the growing calls you face from around the state to permit multiple drop boxes throughout each county" the group wrote in the letter to Sec. LaRose, "While you may have achieved the talking point that you ‘allowed multiple drop boxes per county,’ your policy does nothing to make it easier for Ohioans to cast their ballot."
The lawmakers say that Sec. LaRose's actions are a deliberate attempt to keep Ohioans from voting in the upcoming election.
“Now that three courts, state and federal, have agreed that the plain meaning of the law allows for the installation of multiple drop boxes, we are writing to let you know of these court findings. Therefore we urge you to be true to your word and immediately allow multiple secure ballot boxes dispersed throughout each county,” the Ohio lawmakers said.
Last month, Brown, Kaptur, Fudge, Beatty, and Ryan sent a separate letter to Sec. LaRose asking that he take advantage of the Ohio State Sheet Metal Workers and the Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council's offer to build new ballot boxes at no cost to the state of Ohio.
These are just a few of the measures that the Ohio Democrats have taken to call out what they say are measures from Sec. LaRose to keep Ohioans from making their voices heard in November.