Ohio elections chief taps advocates to find inactive voters

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s elections chief is enlisting the help of community and social service groups to find voters who are at risk of being removed from the state’s registration rolls.

In an order issued Wednesday, Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose required county election boards to send his office names for a “registration reset list” he plans to share with organizations that work closely with populations vulnerable to removal.

The order maintains Ohio’s stringent “supplemental process” for removing inactive voters from the rolls that’s been unsuccessfully challenged in court.

LaRose told The Associated Press he’s legally compelled to carry out the process, but he hopes engaging advocacy groups will help ensure Ohio balances the need to maintain accurate voter rolls with the rights of registered voters to sit out elections.

Julie Carr Smyth, The Associated Press