New State Data Shows Few Felony Convictions for Voter Fraud Despite Referrals

A new online database, the Ohio Crime Statistics Dashboard, shows that a small number of felony convictions for election-related offenses have resulted from cases referred for investigation by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

The dashboard, launched in June by former Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, indicates that of the more than 1,200 cases LaRose referred for investigation since taking office in 2019, no more than 16 have resulted in felony convictions. Nine of these convictions were for illegally voting, and seven were for illegally registering to vote, according to the dashboard. The nine convictions for illegal voting represent a vanishingly small share—0.00003 percent—of the more than 35 million ballots cast in Ohio in the decade covered by the dashboard.

Attorney General Yost’s news release unveiling the dashboard cautioned that its data may not be complete, as it "relies on self-reported data from hundreds of agencies." However, the dashboard currently stands as the only public tool available for statewide counts of convictions for specific crimes.

LaRose, who is prohibited by term limits from seeking a third term and is running for state auditor in November, acknowledged in a 2021 news release that "voter fraud is rare in Ohio." He stated that "one of the reasons it’s rare is because we have good laws on the books," adding, "These are small numbers, but there is no such thing as an acceptable level of voter fraud."

Despite this acknowledgment, LaRose has consistently referred suspected voter fraud cases, particularly involving noncitizens, to law enforcement officials. However, a 2023 Ohio Capital Journal investigation found that of 641 referrals, fewer than 3 percent, or 18 cases, resulted in charges. That investigation also noted that some of the 13 convictions identified in its report may not have originated from LaRose's specific efforts and could have stemmed from violations occurring before he took office.

One conviction identified in the Capital Journal report involved a Geauga County man, adopted from the Caribbean as a child, who cast ballots from 2014 to 2016. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after federal officials reportedly suggested he could face deportation if convicted of a felony. The county prosecutor also cited the man checking the "noncitizen" box when registering as a mitigating factor. The man was sentenced to 10 days in jail.

The Capital Journal investigation highlighted the difficulty in tracking the outcomes of these referrals, as LaRose’s office does not keep records of cases passed to the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation or county prosecutors. Several prosecutors surveyed for the report said many of LaRose’s referrals involved "mistakes or confusion," such as elderly voters casting ballots in the wrong precinct.

This trend aligns with findings from a 2014 survey by the Northeast Ohio Media Group, which reported that prosecutors generally do not pursue cases where individuals make honest mistakes without criminal intent. Prosecutors in that survey indicated that irregularities often resulted from "confusion by voters or mistakes by election officials" rather than deliberate attempts to commit fraud.

Dean Holman, a Democrat who served as Medina County's prosecutor, stated in a recent interview that the vast majority of illegal voting referrals he received during his 28 years did not result in prosecutions. He said he believed "90 percent of the cases that were given to me to review were without merit." Holman added that a prosecutor is ethically bound not to pursue cases they do not believe can be won at trial, noting that "Some of these people were just confused."

Similarly, Ron O’Brien, a Republican who served 24 years as Franklin County’s prosecutor, told the Northeast Ohio Media Group in 2014 that his office dismissed over 30 cases, including for "a number of elderly voters who had apparent memory issues." He said that criminal prosecution was not deemed proper in those instances.

Over the last two decades, Ohio has generally implemented stricter voting regulations. In 2016, legislation sponsored by LaRose when he was a state senator went into effect, requiring the Secretary of State to annually check statewide voter rolls for noncitizens. Historically, county boards of elections were typically responsible for policing their own elections. In August 2024, LaRose re-referred nearly 600 cases of suspected noncitizen registration or voting that county prosecutors had not pursued, sending them directly to the Ohio attorney general.