Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose continues to defend his decision to send voter data to the federal government despite increased Democrat opposition.
LaRose has been complying with a directive from the Trump administration’s Department of Justice to hand over statewide voter registration lists to identify and remove ineligible voters from the rolls.
The data includes names, addresses, driver’s license information, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers—information that the federal government already can access.
“They don’t like it when I call out what they’re actually doing. There’s nothing wrong that happened,” LaRose told the Daily Signal on Tuesday, adding that Democrats are playing on the public’s concern about potential data leaks.
LaRose argued that such fearmongering is “voter suppression.”
“They’re creating fear among registered voters for their own political gain,” he said. “What they’re doing is creating fake outrage, when there shouldn’t be any, which causes people to say, ‘Well, maybe I shouldn’t register to vote because my data is going to be given away.’”
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The Ohio secretary of state has recently drawn the ire of Rep. Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, with back-and-forth posts on X, as well as an angry letter from the congresswoman.
On May 13, Brown co-authored a letter with Committee on House Administration ranking member Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., which was signed by the other Democrat members of Ohio’s congressional delegation.
“The information requested included highly sensitive information such as driver’s license and Social Security numbers,” the letter begins. “Election officials in both Republican- and Democratic-led states have rightfully met these demands with warranted skepticism, and most states have declined these demands in order to protect their voters. The DOJ has sued states for not complying.
“Transferring this data goes far beyond publicly available information and exposes Ohioans to unnecessary risks, including misuse, unauthorized access, leaks, and identity theft, without any clear safeguards or accountability.”
The letter was not only shared on Brown’s congressional website, but also in a thread on X. That thread was in response to LaRose reacting to the letter in a video message. A formal response to that letter is in the works, with lawmakers requesting one by May 29.
LaRose told the Daily Signal in previous conversations that sharing voter roll data is “the right thing to do,” and that the DOJ has authority to access it under the Voting Rights Act.
“If you look at this at its most basic level, I followed the federal law and exchanged data,” LaRose said.
As for other states refusing to comply with the DOJ, LaRose said some have laws preventing data sharing.
LaRose added that handling “all kinds of sensitive information” is “what they do” at the DOJ.
“The U.S. Department of Justice is a trustworthy entity when it comes to maintaining the security of data, and this is data that is mostly all public record to begin with,” LaRose said.
Brown’s office did not return the Daily Signal’s request for comment.
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