Ohio's unscrupulous Secretary of State is trying to deceive voters

Sure, only a cynic would think LaRose is an unprincipled political opportunist. But then those same cynics might take a look at LaRose’s election board antics. Case closed.

Thomas Suddes
| Contributed Comment

Thomas Suddes is a former team reporter at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and writes from Ohio University. [email protected]

In arguably the most brazen political maneuver in recent State House history, Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose trying to inflame Ohioans into voting against their own interests.

And this is not the first time.

Last year, LaRose tried to persuade Ohio voters to make it more difficult to directly change the state constitution by voting, a right Ohioans have since 1912. Voters said no thanks to LaRose’s 2023 proposal, casting 57% of their votes against it.

It may be that by the time this comes out, the Ohio Supreme Court, albeit 4-3 Republican, will have acted to stop LaRose’s maneuver: his attempt, with two allies, to derail the voter-proposed “Citizens Not Politicians” ballot question.

The measure, which will appear on November’s statewide ballot, aims to end the gerrymandering of Ohio’s General Assembly and congressional districts.

One of Ohio’s most prominent Republicans, Maureen O’Connor of Greater Cleveland, the retired chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, strongly supports voter passage of the Citizens Not Politicians plan.

Opinion: Frank LaRose has abandoned his duty of impartiality. The Electoral Board’s result certificate.

LaRose, of Upper Arlington, plus a suburban Republican from Toledo who would like to succeed him, and a third Republican allied with the first two approved official wordings — “ballot language,” which voters will see — that, frankly, brazenly deceive voters about what the Citizens Not Politicians plan would do if Ohioans OK’D it. “Ballot language” is meant to be an unbiased, neutral explanation of how a proposed state constitutional amendment will work if it wins voter OK.

But among other startling perversions of the English language, LaRose-backed newspeak says the Citizens Not Politicians question, if approved by voters, would promote gerrymandering—the exact opposite of what Citizens Not Politicians would do.

As it stands now on Capitol Square, a clique of Statehouse insiders — a clique dominated by Republicans but which Democrats could theoretically one day form — is drawing districts to guarantee GOP majorities in the General Assembly and among Ohio’s U.S. House delegation.

It’s in a state that twice backed Democrat Barack Obama and twice backed Democrat Bill Clinton.

In effect, gerrymandering allows Republican legislators to choose their constituents, rather than letting voters choose their legislators, destroying an important check-and-balance in Ohio government. It’s no wonder the Statehouse’s Powers That Be cherish gerrymandering.

To replace that hack-run array, the Citizens Not Politicians plan, backed by the signatures of hundreds of thousands of Ohio voters from across the state, would create a non-politician Citizens Redistricting Commission to draw fair General Assembly and congressional districts.

LaRose and his allies on the Board of Elections – state Sen. Theresa Gavarone, a Bowling Green Republican (who may want to succeed the term-limited LaRose as secretary of state) and retired bank lobbyist William Morgan, of Fairfield County — okayed the LaRose-backed ballot language over opposition from the board’s two Democrats, state Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson, Toledo’s first female African-American mayor, and state representative Terrence Upchurch of Cleveland.

And, rightfully so, Citizens Not Politicians has appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court, which should have the self-respect, as guardians of the Constitution, to block this coup against Ohio voters.

As mentioned, Bowling Green’s Gavarone, a LaRose ally, may want to succeed the term-limited LaRose as Secretary of State. Speculation is that LaRose, once a state senator from suburban Akron, will run in 2026 for another state executive office, such as state auditor (perhaps state treasurer).

He wanted to go to Washington. But LaRose ran third earlier this year in Ohio’s Republican primary for the GOP nomination for U.S. senator, to challenge Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown. Instead, Republican voters nominated Republican entrepreneur Bernie Moreno of Greater Cleveland to challenge Brown. (Donald Trump endorsed Moreno for the Senate nomination.)

LaRose arrived at the Statehouse in 2011, a newly elected state senator and perceived GOP legislative moderate. But especially in recent years, LaRose has drifted sideways, toward the hard Republican right, trying to convince Ohio voters to handcuff their power to change the state constitution.

Sure, only a cynic would think LaRose is an unprincipled political opportunist. But then those same cynics might take a look at LaRose’s election board antics. Case closed.

Thomas Suddes is a former team reporter at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and writes from Ohio University. [email protected]

Ohio’s unscrupulous Secretary of State is trying to deceive voters

Ohio’s unscrupulous Secretary of State is trying to deceive voters

Sure, only a cynic would think LaRose is an unprincipled political opportunist. But then those same cynics might take a look at LaRose’s election board antics. Case closed.