For Immediate Release:
Saturday, March 5, 2022
CONTACT: Cameron Keir, ckeir@ohiodems.org, 614-506-5413
Voting Process for Servicemembers, May 3 Primary Now in Limbo as LaRose, Republicans Refuse to Follow the Law
Columbus, OH — Late last night, Frank LaRose announced that the U.S. Department of Defense rejected his waiver to shorten the voting period for Ohio’s servicemembers. LaRose sought the waiver because he and fellow Republicans continue to break the law and pass unconstitutional maps, playing politics with the votes of Ohio military members and making a May 3 primary all but impossible.
The voting process for servicemembers is now in limbo as Republicans continue to refuse to follow the law.
Moving the primary will cost Ohioans tens of millions of dollars and cause election chaos that could have easily been avoided if Republicans had done their jobs and passed fair maps.
“Frank LaRose and his fellow Republicans had four opportunities to pass fair maps and chose to break the law instead each time. Now, Ohioans are paying the price. It’s up to Republicans to fix this mess they created immediately by passing fair maps, before Ohioans pay an even steeper price,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.
On Friday, Chair Walters and Secretary of State candidate Chelsea Clark held a statewide virtual press conference to discuss the ways that Frank LaRose has failed to do his job as Ohio Secretary of State by passing illegal, GOP-gerrymandered maps, releasing directives to shore up his own political support and potentially costing Ohioans tens of millions of dollars all so he can play politics with the redistricting process.
You can watch the full news conference HERE:
LaRose, Ohio’s top election official, has served as a rubber stamp for the Republicans throughout the redistricting process, which the GOP has used to serve its own political interests instead of the interests of Ohio voters.
LaRose has voted for four maps in total, three state legislature maps and one congressional map. All of these maps have been clearly gerrymandered, and two of them have already been struck down by the Ohio Supreme Court.