Statement from All On The Line: Ohioans Deserve Answers from Sec. of State LaRose On Affiliation with Infamous Voter Suppression Advocate
For Immediate Release:
October 14, 2020
Contact:
Molly Mitchell
mitchell@redistrictingaction.org
Statement from All On The Line: Ohioans Deserve Answers from Sec. of State LaRose On Affiliation with Infamous Voter Suppression Advocate
AOTL Joins Chorus of Lawmakers Concerned That LaRose’s Affiliation with Hans Von Spakovsky, A Leading Voter Suppression Advocate, has Influenced his Election Policy
On October 13th, Senator Sherrod Brown along with Representatives Marcy Kaptur, Joyce Beatty, Tim Ryan, and Marcia Fudge, sent a letter to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose demanding answers about his office’s contacts with Hans Von Spakovsky, an infamous far-right voter suppression advocate, as well as information regarding Von Spakovsky’s influence over key decisions made by the Secretary’s office affecting voters’ access to the ballot box. AOTL joins this call from members of Ohio’s congressional delegation seeking clarity from the Secretary about the nature of his relationship with Von Spakovskyand how he has guided the Secretary’s implementation of election-related policies.
“As the state’s top election official, Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s main objective should be ensuring that all eligible Ohio voters can freely and fairly exercise their most fundamental American right - the right to vote,” said Katy Shanahan, Ohio State Director for All On The Line.
“From unnecessarily limiting and then only deceptively directing alternative ballot drop boxes be placed next to existing units, to overseeing needless voter purges it’s clear Secretary LaRose is taking a page out of Von Spakovsky’s playbook. Von Spakovsy has spent years peddling false claims of voter fraud to justify enacting huge barriers to voting, particularly in ways that are harmful to Black and Brown communities.
“Secretary LaRose has said that he sees himself as an impartial referee when it comes to overseeing Ohio’s elections. But his actions show quite clearly that he’s wearing one of the team’s jerseys and is more focused on cutting off access to the democratic process than acting as a neutral arbiter when it comes to Ohioans’ voting rights,” Shanahan continued.
About All On The Line
Since its launch in early 2019, All On The Line has been hard at work building a grassroots volunteer organization ahead of the 2021 redistricting process. This work includes launching Redistricting U, a national, in-person training program designed to give individuals the knowledge, skills, and tools to take action on redistricting, a program that is now offered virtually. All On The Line is the grassroots campaign of the National Redistricting Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.
In Ohio, Redistricting U and other AOTL trainings have been held across the state with over 400 volunteers. These trainings seek to raise awareness of the harmful impacts of gerrymandering on the issues Ohioans care about and the communities where they live. They also highlight the importance of public engagement in all steps of the upcoming redistricting process to ensure that it lives up to the promise of the two redistricting reform measures Ohioans overwhelmingly supported in 2015 and 2018.
###