Independent Groups Take Next Steps for Election Integrity

BY PATTY KLEIN

Several groups and individuals not satisfied with the official state efforts to ensure election integrity, have worked diligently to make sure voter rolls are accurate and that elections are secure and fair. These concerned citizens have called for banning electronic voting machines and close examination of voter rolls after finding proof of issues that could damage US and Ohio election integrity. 

According to their website, United Sovereign Americans (USA and Coalition of Concerned Voters(CCOV) Their mission was originally to request that the state use US Cyber Reserves to verify that Ohio’s voting machines had no internet connection. When the state refused, their goal changed to having all electronic voting machines removed from Ohio voting locations, as their website address suggests, “Delete the Machines.”

Tim Stechschulte shared the following about the efforts of United Sovereign Americans (USA) and Coalition of Concerned Voters (CCVO):

“United Sovereign Americans, and Coalition of Concerned Voters of Ohio (CCVO, petitioner) filed a Petition for Relief in the form of a Writ of Mandamus in Ohio’s Northern District Court on August 9th 2024. A Writ of Mandamus compels a government entity to perform mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly. The petition was filed against the State of Ohio along with the Ohio Secretary of State, Attorney General of Ohio and Attorney General Merrick Garland as well as other entities. The bulk of the complaints filed involved a refusal by State agencies to provide multiple public records request since March of 2024 involving the testing certifications for the electronic voting machines used in Ohio.”

The Ohio Election Integrity Network (OEIN) is a coalition of citizens and organizations working to secure elections for Americans. Their website details their goals as follows:

• To make the goal of ‘easy to vote and hard to cheat’ a reality in every voting jurisdiction in America.
• To protect the federalist system enshrined in the US Constitution that vests the primary authority for election systems and administration in the states, not the federal government.
• To create a platform that supports and sustains conservative groups, leaders, public officials and grassroots activists to be engaged permanently in protecting voting rights and the integrity of America’s elections.

A representative from OEIN gave the following statement on their work and purpose:

"We at OEIN stand for "Free - Fair - Transparent" elections that ensure it is easy to vote & hard to cheat in Ohio. Actions, by SOS LaRose, that supports that is what we want. Federal law, in the Constitution, states that only citizens can vote in elections. Ohio citizens believe so strongly in this, a law was passed in 2022 (by overwhelmingly 76% of Ohioans) codifying Ohio Constitution to read 'Only Citizens Vote'. We strongly support this law.”

Allison Nickolai is an independent researcher who works with OEIN and other election integrity groups to help ensure a fair election process. Nickolai has teams of volunteers that search voter databases for individuals who are not eligible to vote. For example, team members found an individual who clearly checked the box for non-citizen, did not provide a social security number, and yet was added as a registered voter. 

Nickolai is also affiliated with "Check My Vote", a website where anyone can confirm a registered voter by name or address. The website contains a wealth of information on voter roll integrity. 

Voters concerned about activist judges in federal appeals courts caught a break on October 30th. The US Supreme Court ruled that illegal voters must be removed from voter roles in Virginia. It remains to be seen how this case will affect similar cases in other states. 

Multiple lawsuits have been filed by state attorneys general across the US including a lawsuit filed by Secretary of State Frank LaRose. LaRose filed a lawsuit in federal court after the Biden-Harris administration refused to give the state access to official records of citizenship. These records help election officials verify citizenship status of those registering to vote. The Department of Homeland Security has refused to release those records. 

“The Biden-Harris Administration is engaging in obstruction and outright abuse of power to prevent us from removing noncitizens from our voter rolls. I take my duty seriously, so if they want a fight over the integrity of our elections, they’ve got it.” LaRose said. 

On November 1, 2024, Judge Christopher Boyco awarded LaRose a win, ruling that an Ohio law requiring voters to show valid IDs could be enforced.