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Officials must take seriously voting integrity

Though there is no evidence of widespread, large-scale voter fraud that might have altered the results of the 2020 general election, there were certainly a few individuals who tried; and Ohio’s Secretary of State’s Office continues to partner with those working to track down the offenders.

Last week, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office referred four people to the state attorney general’s office and county prosecutors for further investigation, as those folks are suspected of voter fraud. Ohio, along with Iowa, Missouri, Nevada and Oregon, is working to identify those who allegedly voted first in one state and then again in the Buckeye State.

“Ohio has a zero-tolerance policy for voter fraud,” said LaRose, a Republican who is running for re-election in two months. “It’s one person, one vote. That’s what Ohioans expect when they cast their ballot and it’s what we will continue to deliver. Voter fraud is exceedingly rare in Ohio because the word is out — if you try to vote twice, we will catch you.”

Because it is that second vote that creates a criminal act, and the suspicion is that those four individuals’ second votes occurred in Ohio, it is now up to Attorney General Dave Yost and perhaps county prosecutors to handle the matter. Four people may seem like just a drop in the bucket compared with the more than 8 million registered voters in Ohio, but it is essential elections officials and law enforcement continue to take threats to the integrity of our elections — no matter how small — very seriously.

editorial@vindy.com

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