Franklin County Board sends 600 late voter forms to state officials

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose referred voter engagement group Field Forward Ohio to the U.S. Department of Justice and local law enforcement on Tuesday. The referral cites registration offenses, specifically the submission of forms that missed legal deadlines.

State law requires organizations registering voters to file completed applications with local boards of elections within 10 days. LaRose stated that the group submitted thousands of registrations on the final deadline of Oct. 5. Some of those forms were more than 10 days old, while others were months old.

The Franklin County Board of Elections provided the state with a sheet detailing specific issues in its records. The board received about 600 past-due registrations from Field Forward Ohio. Of those, 16 belonged to noncitizens, four to deceased individuals, and three to people who did not live at the listed addresses. None of those names are currently on the voter rolls.

Similar late deliveries occurred in Summit, Stark, Hamilton, Wayne, and Jackson counties. LaRose noted that a voter who filled out a form in August and waited for the 10-day window to close might have had an invalid petition signature if they were not registered within that timeframe.

Field Forward Ohio issued a statement acknowledging the failure. The group said it holds itself to high standards and that the error violates its policies. The statement described the mistake as antithetical to the organization's mission.

Atiba Ellis, a nonpartisan elections law professor at Case Western Reserve University, suggested that local law enforcement should finish their investigation before federal involvement. He called the move to federal prosecution for potential errors an overreaction.

LaRose pointed to a 2024 referral involving Black Fork Strategies, the parent company of Field Forward Ohio. He said the group has a history of sloppiness, though he did not specify whether the current errors were intentional or negligent. The group's owner also founded the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, which the FBI raided earlier this year.

U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, a Democrat, expressed concern in June that the investigation was a message to a specific community. LaRose said the state wants organizations to understand that registration rules are serious, and the group may face charges or sanctions.