What our readers would say to Frank LaRose from Ohio over a cup of coffee

Our readers are not fond of Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

I texted the 2,600+ people who subscribe to them this week asking what they would ask or say to LaRose over a friendly cup of coffee. My thinking is that our politicians still live in echo chambers and rarely hear from a cross section of their constituents.

More than 300 responded, and most criticized LaRose. Many are upset about the lies he put in the language of the No. 1 vote that would end gerrymandering in Ohio. LaRose and the voting commission put language in calling the gerrymandering issue.

Many are angry with him for limiting counties across the state to single ballot boxes. They pointed out the ridiculousness of his voter fraud arguments.

As promised, here is a representative sample of the responses.

My question is not original. But here it is. “You have no honor, sir.”

Sarcastic. How’s Kool Ade doing at your office?

I would ask him why he tried to fool the voters with his original language wording of Issue One. I am a lifelong Republican voter, but no more!

My question would be, why are you making voting difficult? There should be more boxes, more time to vote and stop with illegals who can’t vote anyway.

“You have failed miserably in your duties as Ohio’s Secretary of State and have repeatedly conducted yourself in a partisan and partisan manner. If you could serve a third term, what would you do differently?”

Why exactly are you working so hard to thwart the democratic process in Ohio and how do you benefit from it? (I’m pretty sure I know the answer, but I want to hear him say it) And Chris, you would have given him the truth serum first, right?

Is the voting system a closed computer system so that no other data can be entered into it?

“Who exactly do you work for?” that would be my question

You went against the will of the voters on marijuana, abortion, and soon what makes you think you are qualified to represent the people of Ohio in the future?

Are you voting early, by mail, or on Election Day? And did he use all three methods during his voting life?

I would question how closely they screen for voters who are not qualified to vote.

Who are your favorite pre-Reagan Republicans and why? What characteristics did they have and what policies did they adopt?

What criticisms of your performance as secretary of state bother you the most? In other words, which ones do you take to heart? Where do you feel you need to improve your performance?

There is almost no voter fraud. Why not make voting easier? Isn’t it better for the People?

I would have many things to say to our Secretary of State. Let’s start by allowing only one ballot box per country. My son lives in Seattle where his county has 58 delivery boxes! How can Washington State have so many boxes for each county and Ohio can’t? What is the Ohio Secretary of State doing wrong if he has such a limited number of drop boxes? Why isn’t the Ohio Secretary of State doing everything he can to make voting easier, not harder, for Ohio voters?

I would ask him to consider putting more context around vote fraud in any communication. He should explain that these cases represent 0.0001% of all votes cast in Ohio, and the tiny number shows that the voting system works and is not widespread fraud. He should start any press release with support for the integrity of the system.

I would ask him what it’s like to look in the mirror and see someone who has sold his soul for power. That’s why I’m not a journalist.

We all know that the people who count the ballots are the ones who determine the election. What safeguards will you have in place to ensure that no votes are added or miscalculated for a Harris victory?

Why are you afraid to take the drawing of Ohio district lines out of the hands of politicians when time and time again they have proven themselves incapable of doing so in a fair and equal manner? Gerrymandering must stop.

Please put country first, not party

Why did you make the issue in such confusing language? Why are you making it harder for people without cars to vote by limiting the number of ballot boxes?

“Dear SofS LaRose, can you assure the citizens of Ohio that the November 5 election will be free of fraud and that the results will stand up to any challenge?”

Secretary LaRose, what changed that made you a secretary of state responsible for all Ohioans, to a very partisan politician? Why did you deliberately sabotage the ballot language of a citizen initiative for anti-gerrymandering when the current system allowed politicians to ignore the Ohio Supreme Court?

If Frank is so concerned about voter fraud, why did he pull Ohio out of the ERIC compact? What is he doing to prevent double voting between states? Why not go back to support a system that was already working?

Secretary of State LaRose, As Secretary of State, you took an oath to the people of Ohio that you will govern in an impartial manner when it comes to matters dealing with the law. However, you were anything but biased with Issue One. Your confusing and very wordy writing of the issue has left many people wondering why as Secretary of State you would support gerrymandering in this great state of ours???

What is the biggest electoral fraud in the last ten years? And who, what, where?

As the Secretary of State, representing the people of the State of Ohio, how do you justify your decision on the wording of State Issue 1

I would ask, what ever happened to the guy who ran on a bipartisan platform? Now he has made a reputation for demeaning himself to answer to the current power brokers in the State and the Republican National Party

Why have you become so partisan in the position in state government that should be the least partisan since your primary responsibility is to get as many people to vote as possible?

Simply lower the temperature. Take the anxiety out of it by assuring people that you understand, and let volunteers and others do their jobs.

Frank, what motivates your moves to prevent voter turnout in the state of Ohio and why are you opposed to installing ballot boxes in public libraries?

Does he simply believe that the party in control should always have the right to bring its majority to a supermajority by manipulating constituencies?

If you could go back and change one decision you made as Secretary of State (time machine, no one would know) what would it be? And if I had 2 questions, who are you more motivated to serve, your party or ALL Ohioans?

How do you sleep at night knowing you wrote a deliberately misleading, false and misleading summary for #1?

What is your definition of safe, fair and just choices? What are the necessary components for a safe, fair and just choice?

First, I would like to thank him for protecting the security of our elections. Second, how promptly does he think the results will be available on election night?

I’d say, “Frank Frank Frank – Get out of it!”

what happened to you You’ve gone from rational and responsible official to partisan hack.

Will you keep issue #1 if it passes?

I would ask him why people who are not related can’t return an email in the ballot to the board of elections inbox. I can ask a friend to take it to the post office, so why can’t a friend just put it in the drop box as long as someone checked it was sealed?

I would ask him to resign.

My comment to him is that he introduced his personal preferences into the work. It is very disappointing.

What changed that made it veer so far to the right?
He was once considered quite centrist and a decent politician.

I’m not sure I could sit with LaRose without scolding him like I used to scold my teenagers. “What the hell were you thinking? Did you honestly think we wouldn’t notice your trick? What did you do that for?”

which is a greater threat to democracy? A few “illegal” votes, or hundreds or thousands of eligible voters who can’t or find it difficult to vote?

I would ask LaRose why I would have to wait in a line of traffic and then wait in line at the BOE to sign an affidavit that I am the daughter of my 90-year-old mother in order to- and leave the ballot at the BOE, but I can just stamp the ballot and drop it in the mailbox without having to prove I’m a first degree relative. How are the two different? It doesn’t make sense.

I would ask him what caused him to make a 180 degree change in attitude/behavior – honestly. To me it’s pure ambition, just like it was with JD Vance. Most people change shades, not that dramatically.

I would ask something like that. Can you give an example where you reached across the aisle to make sure the election was fair for all parties? How you represent all of Ohio. Or do you operate in a silo?

I would ask, “What happened to you?” When he first took office, he actively worked to encourage everyone to vote and did things to make it easier and more convenient for Ohioans to register and vote. Then, abandoning the far right, he steadily took actions to make it more difficult — photo ID requirements, shortened voting windows, mandating just one drop-off box per county, aggressively purging voter records . It was such a disappointment.

I’d tell him he’s the scum of the Earth.

My questions would be why are we making the electoral process difficult? Having only one secure box to return ballots makes it inconvenient to drop off a ballot (driving a long distance or the time it takes to do so). Not allowing anyone other than the voter to return an absentee ballot without completing additional paperwork is meaningless. Why can’t I drop off my wife’s or an elderly person’s ballot without it being a hassle. These things just seem to make it harder to exercise your constitutional right to vote. What are Republicans afraid of?

Does he think he fairly represents both sides? From where I stand, it looks like he agrees with certain laws, but when the results aren’t to his liking, he’ll postpone them or interpret them differently.

Why do you think it’s OK for Ohio Sec. state attend a partisan rally for a particular political candidate? Don’t you think that gives the impression that your office is trying to influence the voters of Ohio?

When you put an issue on the ballot that a group of Ohioans requested and met the requirements for, why make the language so complicated and difficult to understand. Issue #1 is an excellent example of 17 pages/10 points that the average voter will not read or understand. You should be ashamed for saying your office presents “safe, fair, accurate” elections.

My questions: do you have no integrity? No morality? Don’t you feel your own hypocrisy? Shameless?
(rhetorical questions of course)