New Voting Legislation Proposed

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose unveiled legislation that would clarify and standardize the way election data is organized, stored and shared across the state, a proposal that the Republican says can serve as a national model in addressing the “crisis of confidence” in American elections. The Data Analysis Transparency Archive Act, sponsored by GOP state Sen. Theresa Gavarone, would codify standard definitions of key election data points. The definitions contained in the legislation were developed in cooperation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Data Lab, and drafting help came from the America First Policy Institute, a think tank advancing former President Donald Trump’s public policy priorities. Voter advocates have cited the exceptional accuracy rate of Ohio’s elections in opposing many of the sweeping election law changes recently seen in the state, including a strict photo ID law that Gavarone championed last year.