Sharing the Truth about Ohio Elections by Citizen Volunteer Researchers
Virtually all states have serious election integrity issues, including Ohio. Once you see the data as we have, you cannot unsee. That is why we are here.
Content last updated June 11, 2023 - Check back for updates!
Content last updated JUNE 12, 2023 - Check back for updates.
ELECTION LEGISLATION
Update on SB71 The DATA Act June 10, 2023:
It appears our Ohio government is once again on a path to fail We The People with and serious Election Integrity reform in Ohio. The Senate budget includes $5 million to fund The DATA Act (SB71). When introducing The DATA Act on February 22, 2023, Senator Gavarone stated "Voter fraud, including dead people voting, non-citizens trying to register and double voting; it's happened, it's happened here in Ohio. Having good data to help clean the voter rolls will help make it tougher to cheat and result in better elections and improved voter confidence". However, The DATA Act does not keep dead people from voting; The DATA Act does not keep non-citizens from registering to vote in Ohio; The DATA Act does not prevent double voting. Concerned Ohio citizens have researched election data in Ohio and proposed common sense improvements to SB71 The DATA Act to the Ohio Senate, the Ohio Secretary of State, and the Ohio House; however, our Ohio government has decided NOT to include even one proposed improvement, which include but are not limited to the following:
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Perform a one-time cleanup of hundreds of thousands of voter registration records that don't meet the Secretary of State's own Election Official Manual guidelines
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Screen new voter registrations for proper data entry, duplicate records, identity and citizenship verification
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Allow counties to remove illegitimate registrations immediately, including electors who have moved to another state and are registered in another state. Re
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Include a repository of public election records on the new SB71 online Dashboard, including Cast Vote Records
Ohio's government is counting on Ohio citizens to believe them when they say "Ohio's elections are secure and accurate". Only when Ohio citizens research the TRUTH in Ohio's elections will Ohio citizens realize SB71 The DATA Act, at a cost of 5 million Ohio taxpayer dollars, does not in any way significantly improve the integrity of Ohio's elections. We The People need to rise up and demand true election reform from our Ohio Senators, House Representatives and Secretary of State, which includes citizenship and identity verification and a voter registration database that includes only legitimate Ohio citizens.
Do you consider the following transparency in which the Secretary of State refers?
On May 16, 2023, the Ohio Senate passed SB71 The DATA ACT As Introduced, with no changes.
For some reason, the Ohio Senate didn't include important Testimony from citizens concerned with election integrity that was emailed to Chairman Senator Rulli in April followed by a hard copy delivery in person to Senator Rulli's office.
View testimony the Senate didn't want you to see:
Citizen improvement requests to SB71 were ignored by the Ohio Senate, including:
. Verify US citizenship of persons registering to vote.
. Verify the identity of individuals registering to vote by matching voter registration information such as name, address and date-of-birth. This is especially important for paper voter registrations, as the only identification required is the last 4 digits of a social security number. How can Ohioans be assured the person writing those 4 numbers is the person they say they are and they live at the address listed, as social security numbers do not confirm address.
. Perform a one-time correction of all voter registration databases with hundreds of thousands of errors.
. Screen voter rolls for noncompliance in a manner similar to what citizen analysts are presently doing.
. Remove proven illegitimate voter registrations without a minimum 4-6 year waiting period.
. Require the new Office of Data Analytics and Archives to actively communicate with counties to assist in resolving registration issues.
. Relieve county BOEs of fulfilling redundant open records requests on all public record.
. Does not place limits on data sharing of Ohio citizens non-public information with out-of-state non-governmental entities.
. The public will not be able to consistently obtain and view all public election records across all of Ohio.
. All county election records will not be retained for 22 months and all election records will not be archived for 12 years.
. A new sequential state voter registration record identifier will not replace the complex system using multiple formulas to assign voter identification numbers.
The new Office of Data Analytics & Archives does not assist counties resolve registration issues that include:
. Over 500 voter registrations with a birth date prior to 1/1/1913 plus many 1/1/1800 birth dates;
. Over 57,000 voter registrations with a registration date of 1/1/1900;
. Tens of thousands of elector names and addresses that do not meet SOS rules published in the Ohio Elections Manual;
. Over 2,000 duplicate voter registrations in which all key information is the same except for voter id;
. Duplicate registrations except for a similar first name (Steve vs Steven) or middle name instead of middle initial;
. Registrations abandoned when college students graduate, or electors move;
. Voters who have double voted;
. County voter registration databases that are not in total agreement with the state voter registration database; for example: as of 3/6/2023 Cuyahoga voter registration database has 1,958 registrations not found in the state voter registration data base; Cuyahoga registration database is missing 1,203 registrations found in the state voter registration database, 13,261 registrations in both databases have a different 11/3/2020 voter history.
If you would like your voice heard for changes to this bill once it arrives in the House, stay tuned for more information.
***SB71 CALL TO ACTION ***
We The People of Ohio must demand our state legislators do more to improve election integrity in Ohio. Contact your State Senator, House Representative and Secretary of State and demand they create legislation that should have been included in SB71 The DATA ACT that actually addresses seriour election issues in Ohio, such as a registered voter data base with hundreds of thousands of inaccurate voter records, the lack of citizenship verification when registering to vote, the lack of identity verification when registering to vote, and still being able to vote absentee without a photo-id, instead of the 'Smoke and Mirrors" legislation like SB71 The DATA Act that does little to improve election integrity in Ohio.
If 1 person speaks up, nothing will change.
If 10 people speak up, likely nothing will change.
If 100 people speak up, we may get their attention.
If 1,000 people speak up, they may take action; after all it is their job to represent US.
SENATE BILL 71 THE DATA ACT
SB71 Information
Bill Analysis and Detailed Analysis:
It's been two and a half years since the November 2020 elections. A growing number of concerned and dedicated Ohio volunteer citizens collectively have donated hundreds of thousands of hours researching Ohio's elections and how to improve election integrity. This enormous effort exists solely due to the love we have for our fellow human beings, our state, and our country. We have collaborated efforts within Ohio, networked with election integrity volunteers in other states, reached out to virtually all of Ohio's 88 county Boards of Elections, the Secretary of State's office and many Ohio state legislators; we will continue these efforts until our voices are heard loud and clear, and Ohio's elections are truly secure and accurate.
What have our state legislators done since November 2020 to improve election integrity in Ohio?
You may say they passed HB458 the photo-id law during lame duck in Dec 2022. This law requires a photo-id to vote in person, but allows the last 4 digits of a social security number to register to vote AND to vote by mail without any identity verification that the person filling out the paper voter registration application and absentee ballot is the person they claim to be. Secretary of State LaRose conveniently leaves this part out when he praises the bill, saying "With my support, Ohio leaders in our General Assembly took action. Last month, they passed legislation requiring photo identification to vote, and they did it the right way." This is a deceptive statement as the bill does not always require a photo id to vote. Historically, there has been many more election integrity issues with absentee voting in Ohio as compared to in-person voting; however, this bill strengthens in-person voter id without consistently strengthening the absentee voter id, which is not equal treatment under the law. Do you really think this bill significantly improves election integrity in Ohio?
Sponsored by Senator Gavarone and supported by the Secretary of State, Senate Bill 71 is currently in Senate committee and advertised to modernize Ohio's voter roll data which will make Ohio a leader in transparency in elections. It would create a standardized format for counties to follow when collecting election data. But what exactly does the bill do?
SB71 codifies the definition of key election data which are currently used inconsistently by Ohio's 88 counties, such as Registration Data. This is important and can prevent the following situation that occurred: at one county Board of Elections (BOE) meeting, the Registration Manager stated Registration Date is the date the BOE processes the registration; later in the same meeting, the BOE Director said the Registration Date is the date the registration application is received; and when pressed how it was possible for voters to have a Registration Date that was a federal holiday and BOE employees don't work (prior to online registrations), the BOE Deputy Director stated the Registration Date is the date on the registration application. However, the bill does not address the 60 thousand (yes, SIXTY THOUSAND!) other invalid Registration Dates that exist in the statewide voter registration database. Are all of these voter registrations legitimate? This oversight is a very big missed opportunity for significant improvement in Ohio's election integrity.
The Office of Data Analytics and Archives is created to retain election data, analyze election data and maintain accuracy, and transparently publish election data for the public. The bill does not define the responsibilities of this new Office, leaving it to the Secretary of State (SOS) to issue rules and directives in which a future SOS has the capability to undue any improvements to election integrity. In addition, a representative of the SOS stated the new Office is meant to be similar to a Data Center in which data is retained, rather than perform Analysis or Analytics as stated in the name of the bill and office. Initial accolades from citizen analysts for the creation of the new Office of Data Analytics and Archives turned to disappointment as it appears to be another very big missed opportunity for potential significant improvement in the integrity of Ohio's elections, as Ohio's county and state government officials currently offer little or no means to analyze irregularities found and reported in Ohio's elections, and take the appropriate actions based on the results of such analyses.
When introducing the DATA Act in February, 2023, Senator Gavarone stated: "Voter fraud, including dead people voting, non-citizens trying to register and double voting; it's happened, it's happened here in Ohio. Having good data to help clean the voter rolls will make it tougher to cheat and result in better elections and improved voter confidence." After hearing this from the Sponsor during at the Introduction of SB71, would it be reasonable for the public to think SB71 would address the problems stated above? SB71 doesn't do anything about dead people voting; it doesn't do anything about non-citizens trying to register to vote; it doesn't do anything about double voting; it doesn't make it harder to cheat; and we believe it doesn't significantly result in better elections or improved voter confidence. Once the public is aware of that this bill does and doesn't do, they may feel deceived in spending millions of taxpayer dollars on this bill.
Senator Gavarone SB71 Introduction:
SB71 As Introduced requires county BOEs to transmit daily voter registration data to the SOS for publication and archiving between the 1st day of early voting through election certification. Secretary LaRose and Senator Gavarone In her sponsor testimony of the DATA Act, Senator Gavarone stated "As we all know, Ohio serves as the national model for election administration. Other states constantly look to Ohio for solutions to the difficult challenges our democracy faces. While Ohio consistently leads, we know that we can and should continue to develop innovative solutions to bolster election integrity and transparency.
Senator Gavarone Sponsor Testimony:
SB71 As Introduced requires BOEs to transmit daily voter registration data to the SOS for publication and archiving between the 1st day of early voting through election certification. SOS LaRose and Senator Gavarone praise this as a wonderful thing; however, this data is largely already available at the county level for most Ohio counties. It may not be packaged as nicely as the new Dashboard planned for online access in SB71, but when prioritizing items that improve election integrity vs. items that improve the reporting of election data, citizen analysts choose fixing our elections over improved reporting of election data every time.
SB71 As Introduced specifies voter registration forms and the statewide voter registration database as public records subject to disclosure under public records laws. This is a benefit for easier access to that information, but also misses the opportunity for significant improvement in the integrity of Ohio's elections, as there are many other election records in which the public should have easier and consistent access included in this bill. For example: Cast Vote Records (CVRs) are a snapshot of each ballot as recorded by election equipment and provides valuable analysis capabilities. No personal data appears on a CVR. All 88 Ohio counties were asked to provide a copy of their CVRs for analysis by citizen analysts. Some counties provided this data immediately, some needed to be asked multiple times before providing the data, some provided partial data or data in an unusable format, some wanted to charge a fee for the data, and around half of Ohio counties denied the request or just never provided it. SB71 As Introduced does not change this process.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
IS HB458 THAT GOV. DEWINE SIGNED
INTO LAW JAN 2023 A BILL THAT IMPROVES ELECTION INTEGRITY IN OHIO? OR IS IT TYPICAL POLITICAL
DOUBLE-SPEAK THAT GIVES THE IMPRESSION OF DOING SOMETHING
WE THE PEOPLE DEMAND,
BUT IN REALITY DOES THE OPPOSITE?
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When registering to vote, an Ohio Drivers License (DL) or State ID number, or last four digits of Social Security Number (SSN) are required. SSN does not show an address; non-citizens have SSNs; Ohio Drivers License, State ID and last 4 of SSN number provided MAY NOT BE VERIFIED.
Is it possible for a bad actor to provide a fake Ohio Drivers License and register to vote in Ohio? YES.
Is it possible for a bad actor to provide a fake Ohio State Id and register to vote in Ohio? YES.
Is it possible for a bad actor to provide any four numbers as last 4 digits of SSN and register to vote in Ohio? YES.
Is it possible for a non-US-citizen to provide a any four numbers as last 4 digits of SSN and register to vote in Ohio? YES.
Is it possible for a bad actor who does not live in Ohio to provide any four numbers as last 4 digits of SSN to register to vote in Ohio? YES.
When an Ohio DL/ID, Military ID, US Passport, or last four digits of SSN are used as identification to Vote, there is no verification of the identification presented.
Is it possible for a bad actor to provide a fake Ohio DL to vote in Ohio? YES.
Is it possible for a bad actor to provide a fake Ohio State ID to vote in Ohio? YES.
Is it possible for a bad actor to provide a fake Military ID to vote in Ohio? YES.
Is it possible for a bad actor to provide a fake US Passport to vote in Ohio? YES.
When an Ohio DL/ID, Military ID or US Passport is presented as photo Identification when voting, there is no photo in which to compare to assure the person voting is the same person as the individual registered.
Is it possible for a bad actor to vote with a photo-id that is not the same person as the name of the individual registered to vote? YES.
A non-current address on an Ohio Drivers License, State ID or Passport is now an allowable form of identification when voting on Election Day, In-Person Absentee or Absentee by Mail.
Is it possible for a bad actor to vote using a residential address that isn't their home address? YES.
OFFICIAL “BILL ANALYSIS”
ELECTION INTEGRITY CONCERNS SUMMARY
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When registering to vote or updating a voter registration using a paper form:
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Ohio Drivers License /State ID number or last 4 digits of social security number (ssn) is required
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there is no photo-id required to register to vote using a paper form as last 4 digits of ssn is acceptable
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there is no address to verify when register to vote using a paper form and last 4 digits of ssn as ID
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there is no verification of Drivers License/State ID number or last 4 digits of ssn.
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There is no citizenship check if last 4 digits of ssn is used as id, since legal non-citizens can have a ssn
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When voting in-person:
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a photo ID is generally required (but provisional ballot with last 4 digits of ssn is allowed due to religious objection):
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the photo ID can be an unexpired Ohio drivers license, state ID, interim identification form, US passport or military ID that includes the individual’s name and photograph.
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There is no required address verification
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If provide a US passport (or military id?) to vote in-person, address verification is not possible, since there is no address on a passport (or miliary id?)
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if last 4 digits of ssn is provided to vote, address verification is not possible
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if last 4 digits of ssn is provided to vote and to register to vote, there is no citizenship verification
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elector must sign voter’s name in pollbook rather than write in pollbook
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electronic signatures rarely resemble a signature on paper and there is no verification of the voter’s signature
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When voting absentee in person at BOE:
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a photo ID is generally required (but provisional ballot with last 4 digits of ssn is allowed due to religious objection)::
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the photo ID can be an unexpired Ohio drivers license, state ID, interim identification form, US passport or military ID that includes the individual’s name and photograph.
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There is no required address verification
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If provide a US passport (or military id?) , address verification is not possible, since there is no address on a passport (or military id?)
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if last 4 digits of ssn is provided, address verification is not possible
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if last 4 digits of ssn is provided, there is no citizenship verification
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not sure if signature is required, but it doesn’t matter, since signature is not verified
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When applying to vote absentee by mail or returning an absentee ballot
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an Ohio DL/ID number or last 4 digits of ssn or copy of photo ID is required
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the photo ID can be an unexpired Ohio drivers license, state ID, interim identification form, US passport or military ID that includes the individual’s name and photograph.
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There is no required address verification
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If provide a US passport (or military id?), address verification is not possible, since there is no address on a passport (or military id?) or last 4 digits of ssn
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if last 4 digits of ssn is provided, address verification is not possible
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if last 4 digits of ssn is provided, there is no citizenship verification
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This bill is typical political double-speak “smoke and mirrors”.
It gives the illusion of safety and security when registering to vote and voting;
however, it does neither.
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An individual can register to vote on paper using the last 4 digits of ssn as ID, then apply and vote absentee using the last 4 digits of ssn as ID. CITIZENSHIP is not verified. ADDRESS is not verified. The LAST 4 DIGITS OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER are not verified. A PHOTO-ID is not required. How does this improve voter integrity?
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An individual can register to vote, then vote in person with a passport that has a photo-id. There are no requirements for the individual to look similar to the PHOTO-ID. ADDRESS is not verified. PASSPORT NUMBER is not verified. How does this improve voter integrity?
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Depends on BMV to verify citizenship if provide Ohio ID. BMV may have outsourced operations to privately operated businesses. Who is accountable to assure BMV correctly identifies individuals who are non-citizens? If BMV fails to do their job, voter integrity is in jeopardy. In addition, BMV is the responsibility of SOS, which could potentially be a conflict of interest.
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Allows SOS to continue to mail unsolicited applications for absent voter’s ballots at a wasted cost to taxpayers that influences electors to vote absentee under the disguise of convenience, and allows bad actors to intercept and fill out fraudulent applications that may lead to phantom votes. Also, what happens to undeliverable applications?
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Allows absent voter’s ballots returned by mail to arrive at BOE by 4th day after election to be counted, which increases the potential for no election results on election night & the potential for phantom votes to be inserted for 4 days beyond the close of polls.
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Allows ‘secure’ outdoor drop box on the premises of BOE in each county with specific administrative requirements when prior LAW did not allow ANY drop boxes.Yes, drop boxes have been used in previous elections - BUT THEY WERE NEVER LEGISLATED, AND THEREFORE WERE ILLEGAL! Why were they allowed? Our Ohio courts are corrupt as well.
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Emphasizes the law that absent voter’s ballots returned to the board (includes drop boxes) must be delivered by the elector or listed relative – BUT there is no verification requirement
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REQUIRES, instead of ALLOWS BOEs to process absent voter ballots before the close of polls on Election Day. Why? It may provide information to bad actors as to the number of phantom votes that are needed to assure their selected candidate(s) win.
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“Stays Silent” on this issue regarding clarifying whether absent voter ballots can be counted if they are returned to the board inside the return envelope but not inside the identification envelope. - in other words, this bill allows for the potential manipulation of absent voter ballots.