As Legal Questions Mount, Rep. Sweeney Calls on Secretary LaRose to Finally Produce Public Records on His Voter Purges

COLUMBUS – State Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake) today sent a letter to Secretary of State Frank LaRose once again seeking information clarifying his office’s removal of more than one hundred thousand registered Ohioans from the voter rolls. 

“It has never been more important to access these public records to ensure that all eligible voters in Ohio have the freedom to vote. We know, by the Secretary of State’s own admissions in 2019, that his office has had trouble administering the registration process accurately and effectively. Yet since then, LaRose has done nothing to the public's knowledge to give confidence that the flawed system he manages isn’t removing eligible voters from the rolls.

With previous records my office was able to uncover more than 1,000 voters wrongfully removed just in Cuyahoga alone. This problem was likely spread throughout other counties as well. That is why these records are vitally important, as we head into early voting for one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime. 

“My colleagues and I have called on the secretary to commission a 3rd party audit, which has fallen on deaf ears. If Frank LaRose isn’t going to ensure all eligible voters have the right to vote in Ohio, the least he can do is give me the public records, so I can do it for him,” said Rep. Sweeney. 

Rep.  Sweeney has been seeking public records related to LaRose’s error-ridden voter purges since November 2023. After unnecessary time-lapses and frivolous tactics, the secretary’s office has again refused to provide public records that would provide the appropriate transparency to his voter removal process. All the while, LaRose has been put on notice by voting rights organizations that believe his office could be violating federal law with his voter purges.

Secretary LaRose has purged roughly 160,000 people from Ohio’s voter rolls for the upcoming presidential election.  Voters can review their voter registration here.