LaRose directs election officials to begin new round of voter list audits
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a new statewide directive instructing election officials to begin the next phase of auditing Ohio’s voter rolls for accuracy and integrity.
Secretary LaRose issued Directive 2025-31, beginning the process of removing outdated or abandoned registrations eligible for removal by 2029. Federal law requires any registration eligible for removal from the voter rolls to undergo a four-year notification process. During that time, registered electors are sent mailed notices from their county board of elections with clear instructions on how to restore the registration to active status.
“Ohio has one of the most efficient and effective voter list maintenance programs in the country,” said Secretary LaRose. “Members of the U.S. House Committee on Administration, which helps to oversee our election laws, have been citing Ohio’s voter registration integrity efforts as a model for the nation, and it’s one that’s been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. We’ve created a process that’s very transparent so Ohioans can have absolute confidence in the integrity of our elections.”
As boards of elections initiate the process for this new class of removals, they are preparing to complete the removal of the previous class. Those removals are scheduled by law to occur by September 23, 2025. In preparation for that deadline, the Ohio Secretary of State’s office published a list of 352,389 registrations eligible for removal so Ohioans can easily review the records and take any steps necessary to restore a registration to active status. The Registration Readiness List can be searched or downloaded in full at RegistrationReadiness.OhioSoS.gov. After the September deadline, any eligible citizen removed from the rolls as required by law can restore their registration immediately in just minutes by reregistering at VoteOhio.gov.
Background on Ohio’s List Maintenance Leadership
Since Secretary LaRose took office in 2019, he has led an unprecedented effort to ensure Ohio’s voter rolls are the cleanest and most transparent in the nation. Clean voter rolls are a necessity for election integrity, which requires an ongoing and multifaceted effort.
Ohio law requires the Secretary of State and the 88 county boards of elections to regularly “verify the accuracy of the information in the statewide voter registration database.” Last year, the Secretary of State’s new Office of Data Analytics and Archives modernized that effort by custom-building a data integrity tool designed to help county boards of elections maintain accurate voter registration records and solve identified discrepancies.
Additionally, each month, Ohio carries out a series of proactive measures to maintain clean and accurate rolls. These include removing registrations of deceased individuals and those currently incarcerated for a felony. New voter registrations and voting histories are cross-checked to ensure noncitizens are not registered or voting, and any discrepancies are flagged for removal by the county boards. Ohio also closely monitors duplicate registrations, keeping them consistently below 0.30 percent. As an additional safeguard, the state requires that all duplicate registrations be eliminated entirely, long before Election Day.
In addition to monthly checks, Ohio performs several key maintenance procedures on an annual basis. A full audit of the Statewide Voter Registration Database is conducted to confirm its integrity. The state identifies and removes records for individuals who have registered and voted in another state. Voting histories are shared with other states to investigate and potentially prosecute individuals who may have voted illegally in multiple jurisdictions. Ohio also reviews National Change of Address records to identify voters who have moved out of their county or state. These individuals are sent notifications prompting them to update, confirm, or cancel their registration. Similarly, registrants who have not engaged in any voting activity for two years receive a notice asking them to take action on their status.
Transparency is a cornerstone of this effort because trust in elections begins with trust in the process. Unlike many other states, Ohio provides public access to its voter rolls free of charge. The Statewide Voter Registration Database is updated and posted weekly on the Secretary of State’s website. In addition, Daily Voter Registration Snapshots allow the public to see which registrations have been added, updated, or removed each day. Prior to conducting any removals under the National Change of Address process or the Supplemental Process, a Registration Readiness list is published online, giving the public a clear and timely view into the system’s updates.
By combining rigorous data practices with an unmatched level of public transparency, Ohio continues to set the national standard for voter roll integrity.
* * *
••• Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 26 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.