COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s elections chief said Tuesday that his office’s routine review of potential voter fraud has turned up 62 new potential cases, involving a tiny fraction of nearly 6 million votes cast in the 2020 general election.
Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said the 62 cases have been referred to either local prosecutors or the Ohio attorney general’s office.
Of those, 31 are non-citizens who registered to vote but did not cast a ballot. The other 31 may have cast illegal ballots, including 27 in the 2020 general election, he said.
Former President Donald Trump has falsely claimed that the 2020 presidential election was stolen through voter fraud, a narrative that contributed to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. State election officials and his own Justice Department said the election was free and fair.
Nationally, an Associated Press analysis found far too little fraud occurred to have swung the 2020 presidential result favoring Democrat Joe Biden. In Ohio, audits have determined the count was nearly perfect.
“Here are the facts: Ohio smashed voter turnout records in 2020 while providing Ohioans a secure election,” LaRose said in a statement. “Our state is proof positive you don’t have to choose between secure or convenient elections -- we have both.”
He said the criminal referrals “are all about accountability” and showing lawbreakers Ohio takes election security seriously. The review looked for non-citizen registration and voting, voting on behalf of a deceased person and double voting.
