Rep. Miller joins House Democrats to urge LaRose to do more to prepare state for November election

COLUMBUS— State Rep. Joe Miller (D-Amherst) and House Democrats Tuesday sent a letter to Secretary of State Frank LaRose addressing recent major developments in Ohio’s elections. Ohioans watched last week as Post Office mailboxes and processing machinery were dismantled and removed in Ohio and across the country. Following national outcry over potential election interference, USPS has said they would halt additional reorganization changes until after the November election, but it is still unclear whether the reductions in service and processing will be undone.

Amid the USPS controversy, Secretary LaRose held a press conference to announce he was prohibiting all counties, no matter their size and population, from having more than one secure ballot drop box. He also said he would not require masks in polling places and recently ordered Boards of Elections to send voter purge mailings to 119,000 Ohioans just one month before the start of Early Voting.

“Voter suppression is just another form of corruption that has been taking place in Columbus over the past 20 years. We should be pushing for greater access to the democratic system by fellow Ohioans, rather than moving backwards. We are calling on you, Secretary LaRose, to not play politics with our fundamental rights to vote,” said Rep. Miller.

The members raised their concerns with these alarming choices and demanded that Secretary LaRose do everything in his power for voters in these unprecedented times. The caucus provided him a 16-point checklist of what they would like to see from his office including:

• Multiple secure drop boxes
• Paying return postage
• Keeping all polling locations open
• Online absentee ballot application