LaRose applauds General Assembly's resolution calling on Congress to defeat HR 1

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is applauding a new resolution being introduced by Ohio Representative Thomas Hall (R-Madison Township) in the Ohio House of Representatives that calls on Congress to defeat HR 1, the federal takeover of state-run elections.

“Speaker Pelosi wants to California-fy all 50 states’ elections systems and we’re saying no way. This massive power-grab would impose significant & costly mandates eroding election security and sapping voter confidence,” LaRose said. “Ohio leaders are speaking in a unified voice against this drastic overreach. I want to thank Representative Hall for taking up this important issue and urge his colleagues to support this resolution.”

“On November 3, 2020, Ohio executed our most successful election ever,” Rep. Hall said. “We don’t need DC’s chaos in Ohio’s election system. Nancy Pelosi and the DC elite cannot run elections in Ohio better than our own Secretary of State and 88 county boards of elections. HR 1 is a simple partisan power grab to Ohio’s bipartisan processes. “

Last week, Secretary LaRose called on Congress to vote no on HR 1. The White House and Speaker Pelosi are making a push for a swift vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Text of the Ohio House Resolution can be found below.
 
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION To urge the United States Congress not to adopt H.R. 1 of the 117th Congress.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF OHIO (THE SENATE CONCURRING): WHEREAS, House Resolution 1, a sweeping federal bill that would usurp the power of states to conduct elections as they see fit, against the intentions of our nation's founders, is currently under consideration by Congress; and

WHEREAS, Article I, section 4 of the United States Constitution grants the legislative branch of each state the authority to prescribe the "Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives," an authority the United States Congress should only supersede in "extraordinary circumstances" according to Alexander Hamilton in Federalist Number 59; and

WHEREAS, Voting laws have evolved across the 50 states over time, providing more and more access, security, and accuracy. But most importantly, each of those same 50 states have created their own unique election systems. From who administers the elections, to how votes are cast, to how a vote is protected – each unique system was born of federalism; and

WHEREAS, The imperfection of voting laws across the country is not proof that H.R. 1 is necessary or appropriate, but rather evidence that United States citizens are continuing to strive toward a more perfect union; and

WHEREAS, Forcing completely new standards, procedures, and expectations into state election systems, which are not built for those requirements, as is the case under H.R. 1, would bring chaos to those election systems, and that chaos would bring with it a lack of trust by the people in the results of those elections; and

WHEREAS, In Ohio, a state whose elections have long been under the watchful eye of the nation, we have developed a system that has ensured voters have confidence in the outcome of our elections. Voter fraud and voter suppression are exceedingly rare. Our efforts to strengthen the security of our elections have become a national model. States are even coming to us to learn our best election practices so they can mirror them back home; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, That we, the members of the 134th General Assembly of the State of Ohio, affirm our belief in the federal structure of the United States government and declare current voting laws a credit to the design of federal government to allow for democratic experimentation throughout the several states; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the United States Congress not to adopt H.R. 1 of the 117th Congress; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives transmit a duly authenticated copy of this resolution to the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore and Secretary of the United States Senate, the members of the Ohio Congressional delegation, and the news media of Ohio so they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of the State of Ohio in this matter.