Democrats lose as LaRose appoints new Election Integrity Commission members

Democrats lost another battle in the voting integrity war after Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced on Tuesday that he will appoint two people to the state’s Election Integrity Commission.

The first one is retired state Supreme Court Justice Terrence O’Donnell, who will serve as interim chair of the newly formed commission, which will formally replace the Ohio Elections Commission on Jan. 1, 2026.

The second is Michael Crites, a U.S. Navy veteran and former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, who will replace O’Donnell after Senate Bill 293 becomes law – which will happen in 90 days – and serve as chairman for the remainder of the term.

“Justice O’Donnell is one of the most respected jurists and legal minds in Ohio, and I’m honored that he’s agreed to give of his time in retirement to continue serving our state in this interim capacity,” LaRose said in a press release.

LaRose also praised O’Donnell for being “one of the longest-serving justices in the history of the Ohio Supreme Court” and earning “an impeccable reputation for integrity and professionalism.”

“His experience will help immediately restore the commission’s credibility, as he leads its formative days,” he said.

LaRose previously appointed three other people to the commission. Among them were Karl Kerschner, Representative of the Senate President; John Lyall, Representative of the House Minority Leader; and Eben (Sandy) O. McNair, IV, Representative of the Senate Minority Leader.

Even though Democrats did not respond to the recent news, they had previously opposed LaRose’s other voting-integrity efforts.

“I am calling on the secretary to reverse this voter purge and pause it for all 88 counties until after the election, as he has already done for three counties he cherry-picked,” state Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney, D-Westlake, said in 2023. “It is incumbent upon the secretary to provide Ohioans with answers. They deserve to have confidence in our elections.”

Other state Reps. Terrence Upchurch, D-Cleveland, Juanita Brent, D-Cleveland, as well as state Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, and Innovation Ohio’s CEO and Executive Director Desiree Sims also opposed LaRose.

At the end of September, Democrats sued LaRose over drop box restrictions, according to Democracy Docket.

Editor-in-Chief and opinion columnist for the Ohio Capital Journal, David DeWitt, also criticized the previously proposed ballot language for Issue 1, writing on X that LaRose “is using his official position again to try to manipulate voters by rigging ballot language for the anti-gerrymandering proposal.”

“He abused his office last year in the same way on the repro rights one. And he voted repeatedly for illegal gerrymandering,” DeWitt alleged in a post to X.