Review finds 126 voted illegally in Ohio in past five years, official says
Secretary of state says 821 non-citizens had registered to vote.
Reviews of election COLUMBUS— data by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted found 821 non-citizens have registered to vote in the state over the past five years
126 of whom cast ballots. —
“Voter fraud exists. It’s rare. We hold people accountable when it happens. And we’re trying to build a better systemsowe canget out in front of this and it doesn’t happen in the future,” Husted told this newspaper onMonday.
The 821 improper registrations is out of more than 7.8 million registered voters in Ohio. The 126 apparently illegally cast ballots is out of 18.7 million votes cast in statewide primary and general elections held since 2013. In no instances did the non-citizens cast ballots in elections decided by one vote, Husted found.
League of Women Voters of Ohio Executive Director Carrie Davis said the allegations should be put into the proper context.
“In November 2016, Ohio had 7,861,025 registered voters and, of those, 5,607,641 cast ballots in the
appointed jointlyby the sheriff, county commission president, Dayton’s mayor and the state senator from the 6th District, Whaley said. The sheriff also will serve as an ex-officio member.
“The reason for this committee is there is recognition that the demands of the jail population has significantly changed over the last 10 years,” Whaley said.
The sheriff has asked the county commission to create a justice committee, and commissioners will oblige, Whaley said.
The four-person appointing authority is looking for candidates for the committee with expertise in mental health, substance abuse, civil rights, lawenforcement, the judiciaryandhealth care, Whaley said.
People interested in serving on the committee are encouraged to contactWhaley, Lehner, Plummer or Foley.
Earlier this month, the county commission asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate potential civil rights violations at the jail, citing a series of federal lawsuits filed against the jail and county alleging inmate mistreatment.
Last week, the commission askedMayor Whaley to lead and chair an oversight committee for the jail. Whaley did not consent to the request, but arranged the Monday sit-down between the sheriff and commission president.
Whaley has insisted that anoversight committeemust be completely independent and should not be political.
Whaleypreviouslysaid her staffwould research howjail review groups in other U.S. communities operate and would identify some best practices to try to follow.
Whaley also said Lehner’s presence at the meeting was crucial to ensure the discussion would be bipartisan.
“I believe in our community and the willingness to work together is very strong here,” Whaley previously said.
Whaley stressed that the oversight committeewould need access to jail data and would need resources from the county commission to collect and study the data to reach informed conclusions about activities and practices at the facility.
County commissioners said theywould be willing to “modify” the request for an inquiry to the Justice Department if a truly “bipartisan and independent” oversight committee was formed.
“We strongly believe that this groupmust be non-partisan and represent key stakeholders, citizens and grassrootscommunitymembers,” Foley said last week.
Sheriff Plummer lastweek balked at the idea of having to comply with any requirements the county commissionwanted to place on the jail review committee.
But Plummer also said he was willing to sit down with Foley and others. “I will definitely consider any recommendations they have pertaining to structure and potential committee members.”
The mayor kept her comments brief onMonday. The other parties declined to comment for this article.
‘We strongly believe that this group must be nonpartisan and represent key stakeholders, citizens and grassroots community members.’ Dan Foley, president Montgomery County Board of Commissioners