Secretary of State visits Columbiana County Board of Elections
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Some members of the Columbiana County Republican Women's Club present Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose with a challenge coin for America250, a token of appreciation for his military service, during his visit to the Columbiana County Board of Elections Thursday afternoon. Pictured from left are Jane Wilson, Barb Kuder, Anita Williams, Sharon Henry, LaRose, Peggy Caratelli and Bev Rine. (Photo by Mary Ann Greier)
Now voters are being asked to make that requirement part of the state constitution by passing state Issue 3 on the Nov. 3 ballot.
"This makes it permanent," LaRose said.
In other words, if the proposed constitutional amendment passes, Ohioans would be required to do what they've already been doing for many years -- showing their photo ID to vote.
LaRose talked about state Issue 3 and also touched on the proposed federal Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act during a visit to the Columbiana County Board of Elections in Lisbon Thursday afternoon, conversing with local election workers and board members.
"I have enjoyed this work the last seven and a half years," he said, noting this is his last election cycle as the state's election chief.
He's term-limited out when this term ends after eight years as Secretary of State. A Republican, he's now running for state auditor in the fall election.
In talking about serving as Secretary of State, he said "it's been the honor of my life."
Even during the challenges of 2020 from the pandemic, the presidential election still happened and Ohio followed its protocols and received the largest turnout ever. In 2022, that was the largest turnout for a gubernatorial election and then in 2024, Ohio broke its record for in office voting.
"We've made it easy to vote and hard to cheat," LaRose said.
Putting on elections in Ohio is a bipartisan enterprise, with Republicans and Democrats working side by side, maintaining a balance. He said it's not like that in every state. He also said there's a lot of false information out there about election administration and suggested educating people at the polls. Ohio voting machines are never connected to the Internet and there are still paper ballots, which creates an ability to cross check results.
After every election, the Board of Elections must do an audit of the official results by hand counting a percentage of the ballots cast, then running those ballots through the machine to make sure the results match. Columbiana County's audit showed 100% accuracy during the May primary.
Regarding the SAVE Act, LaRose said it's not the law at this point.
"Most of it I like. Most of it would not change how we do things in Ohio," he said.
He shared what Ohio does: we check IDs, we take the deceased off the voter rolls on a regular basis, we only send absentee ballots to voters who request them.
LaRose said he's been in the valley, spending Wednesday night at a Raise A Glass to Democracy voter registration event in Austintown, part of a state initiative to promote voter registration at small breweries, wineries and distilleries. Thursday night he was attending the Youngstown State University football game where he planned to visit with the U.S. Army ROTC early in the game.
A U.S. Army veteran, he's a sergeant first class in the Ohio National Guard.
During the visit, the Columbiana County Republican Women's Club presented him with a challenge coin for America250, a token of appreciation for his military service. He, in turn, presented them with his own challenge coin as Secretary of State.
While chatting, he pointed out that his mom is a lifelong Democrat, so he grew up in a bipartisan family. He also said he talks about Columbiana County's Board of Elections building to other counties. He likes the way the building is set up.
"We are very proud of this building," Board of Elections Director Kim Fusco said.
Fusco was very grateful that LaRose took the time out of his schedule to visit Columbiana County and to explain state Issue 3. He also talked about the countdown to the election.
The deadline to register to vote in Ohio is Oct. 5.
Early in-person voting hours at the Columbiana County Board of Elections will be:
-- 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 6 to 9, Oct. 12 to 16 and Oct. 19 to 23.
-- 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Oct. 24.
-- 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Oct. 26 and Oct. 28 to 30.
-- 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 27.
-- 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Oct. 31
-- 1 to 5 p.m. Nov. 1.
To learn more, visit columbianacounty.boe.ohio.gov or visit the Ohio Secretary of State website at ohiosos.gov.