Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has issued a warning to election boards across the state after an investigation revealed fraudulent voter registration forms in Clark County. This comes as concerns over election integrity mount, with the November presidential election fast approaching.

The investigation, led by Ohio’s Election Integrity Unit, discovered illegal voter registration forms that had been translated into Haitian Creole. These forms were flagged by the Clark County Board of Elections after being submitted by a local applicant. 

The discovery was especially concerning due to the recent influx of Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, a city now home to 30,000 Haitians, many of whom arrived after the Biden-Harris administration extended Temporary Protected Status to Haitian refugees.

LaRose’s office is also investigating a broader pattern of fraudulent activity across multiple counties, allegedly involving Black Fork Strategies, a progressive canvassing group. The organization has been linked to the submission of numerous fraudulent voter registration forms. LaRose’s office has referred several cases involving Black Fork for prosecution, emphasizing the importance of vigilance in the weeks leading up to the election.

LaRose reiterated the need for election boards to carefully verify registration forms, particularly those submitted by third-party groups like Black Fork. He emphasized that Ohio has implemented various measures to prevent fraud, including cross-referencing voter registrations with federal databases like the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database.