LaRose prevents noncitizens from voting in Ohio again

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced this week that Ohio has formalized a long-term agreement with the federal government that would enable the state to access federal records to verify whether a person seeking to vote is an American citizen.

According to a news release from LaRose’s office, this was the outcome of months-long litigation filed by the state of Ohio against the Department of Homeland Security under the Biden administration.

The agreement will guarantee the state has access to the improved Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) System for the next 20 years.

“Ohio has a duty to ensure that only U.S. citizens are registered to vote, and this agreement gives us the tools to do that job right,” LaRose said. “I appreciate the Trump administration for working with us to deliver long-term access to the federal data needed to protect election integrity.”

LaRose became well-known for trying to ensure election integrity in Ohio, ordering all 88 county boards of elections to begin reprogramming their voter registration systems to align with the new district boundaries.

“While boards are reminded that candidate petitions cannot be verified or certified until reprogramming is complete, this serves as the kick-off for what will be high-profile congressional elections in 2026,” he said. “I’m confident that our boards of elections will take the necessary care to ensure an accurate changeover.”

LaRose also updated the “Find My District” tool so any Ohioan can see how the change may impact their district and won a lawsuit to protect Ohio elections from foreign influence.

“The General Assembly acted quickly to stop it, and, almost immediately, activist groups sued to keep their foreign dollars flowing,” LaRose said after winning in court. “They failed, and Ohio’s ban on foreign dark money has been rightfully upheld. I want to thank my legal team and the attorney general’s office for their work in successfully defending this important law.”

LaRose also began using an AI-powered election administration assistant, implemented interactive tools for Ohio voters, uncovered cases of voter fraud, invited federal agents to look at Ohio’s voter data and prevented illegal immigrants and dead people from voting.

“Technology is giving us the tools to make election integrity a central focus of everything we do,” LaRose said about the AI-powered election administration assistant. “I hope that when we leave this office, Ohioans will look at our administration and say we left it better and more accountable than it was before.”

LaRose also implemented the Voter Registration Dashboard, the Absentee and Early Voting Dashboard, the Daily Voter Registration Snapshots, enhanced data integrity tools for election officials and the Election Results Dashboard.