After Voting for Illegal Maps, Frank LaRose will Waste Tax Dollars Investigating an Imaginary Problem
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 5, 2022
Contact:
Rachel Coyle, coyle@innovationohio.org
Today, the Equal Districts Coalition — a group of over 30 Ohio advocacy organizations and labor unions engaged in the redistricting process — released the following statement after Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced a new, taxpayer-funded election investigation unit:
“Secretary of State LaRose’s 'Public Integrity Unit' for supposed ‘voter fraud’ is a red herring.
”While Frank LaRose was gerrymandering our communities out of fair representation, he was also texting his friend Madison Gilbert about which of her houses would be in the new NE Ohio district he drew for her. Now, he campaigns with election deniers while pretending to care about election integrity.
“Frank LaRose is helping his friends, not Ohioans. We’re not falling for it.
“Over the past year, Ohio’s top election official Frank LaRose has personally voted six times for illegal districts and ignored multiple court orders requiring him to adopt constitutional maps.
“Voter fraud in Ohio is exceptionally rare, but rigged districts that cheat voters out of their voices have become commonplace.
“Only securing the full power of Ohioans’ vote under fair maps would fully restore faith in our elections. Secretary LaRose knows this, but willfully ignores it and puts his partisan interests over those of our democracy.
”Now, as a distraction, he will waste your tax dollars investigating an imaginary problem, which he too admitted is rare. Ohioans need fair maps, and Secretary LaRose should focus on getting that job done first.”
Ten of Ohio's top Republican officials have repeatedly violated state law without consequences.
The Equal Districts Coalition is naming these villains — lawbreakers who do not deserve to hold elected office:
Governor Mike DeWine
Secretary of State Frank LaRose
State Auditor Keith Faber
Supreme Court Justice Sharon Kennedy
Supreme Court Justice Pat Fischer
Supreme Court Justice Pat DeWine
Senate President Matt Huffman
House Speaker Bob Cupp
Senator Rob McColley
State Rep Jeff LaRe
The Equal Districts Coalition will not let these politicians off the hook. We will continue naming the Republican villains and fighting back until Ohio voters receive the fair, constitutional districts they demanded.
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The Equal Districts Coalition is the largest redistricting coalition in Ohio, with over 30 member organizations. It includes the Ohio State Conference of the NAACP, Ohio Organizing Collaborative, OAPSE/AFSCME, Ohio Farmers Union, AFSCME Ohio Council 8, the Ohio Environmental Council, OFUPAC, Innovation Ohio, the Ohio Student Association, ProgressOhio, All On the Line-Ohio, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, Ohio Council of Churches, NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, URGE – Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, LEAD Ohio, the Ohio Women’s Alliance, the Ohio Federation of Teachers, Ohio Education Association, CAIR-Ohio, Campus Vote Project, Ohio Unity Coalition, Equality Ohio, The Freedom Bloc, and more.
