One of the Democrats who wants to be Ohio's next secretary of state wants the current occupant of that office, Republican Frank LaRose, to answer questions about voter data he shared with the U.S. Department of Justice last month.
Rep. Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) has filed a public records request with LaRose's office, seeking answers to questions she has about the data.
"What he has shared with the US Department of Justice, what information has been shared, what agreements he has in place with the Department of Justice, if the Department of Justice has provided any information or a memorandum of agreement in terms of how they will secure Ohioans private information and who they plan to share it with and how they plan to use it—I think this is simple,” Russo said in an interview. “I think it should absolutely be expected from the people of Ohio from our secretary of state, and so I'm asking him to be transparent with that.”
Russo said she's heard from many constituents who are concerned about LaRose sharing the data with the federal government for fear they could be disenfranchised.
"That our secretary of state is just playing fast and loose and handing over whatever this president demands without this real accountability or transparency, I think, should be deeply alarming to every single Ohioan," Russo said.
The Democrat running against Russo in the May primary, Dr. Bryan Hambley, a cancer doctor from Cincinnati, issued a written response.
"Without winning in November, all Democrats can do is file records requests and make public statements. None of it is enough to effect real change," Hambley said.
Hambley said Democrats need to focus on winning in November so they can continue the fight against gerrymandering.
LaRose’s spokesman Ben Kindel said in a written statement last month that the DOJ has the legal authority to ask for the data and to enforce federal voting and privacy laws, and that LaRose's office will continue to provide the federal agency with "the resources they need to do their job and help keep Ohio's elections honest."
Kindel said the voter files sent include driver's license numbers, dates of birth, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers when for registrations. He said it’s common practice for state and local governments to use federal databases to protect the integrity of government programs and law enforcement, and that most of Ohio's voter registration data is already publicly available.
“The opposition to this effort is politically motivated,” Kindel added. “These same lawmakers had no problem with Ohio’s voter data being shared with ERIC, which turned out to be a highly partisan group that refused to guarantee the security of our records. It’s ironic that they’re now suddenly offended by an effort to work with federal law enforcement to keep ineligible voters out of our elections.”
This isn't the first time Russo and LaRose have not seen eye-to-eye on voting matters. Russo is a sponsor of the Ohio Privacy Act, which would bar state entities from collecting, recording, or sharing an individual’s identifying information or personal data unless otherwise required by law. LaRose has said that legislation is not necessary.
Russo has also sponsored a bill to allow Ohioans who have unreturned mail-in ballots to walk them into any precinct on Election Day. She said that change is necessary following a law that LaRose supported requiring all ballots to arrive at the Board of Elections prior to Election Day in order to be counted.
