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    Letter From Attorney General Dave Yost's Office To Secretary of State Frank LaRose's Office

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    sdonaldson
    In a letter sent to LaRose’s office last week, Bridget Coontz, Yost’s chief counsel, wrote that Yost’s office doesn’t have the authority to investigate most of what was re-referred.

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    Letter From Attorney General Dave Yost's Office To Secretary of State Frank LaRose's Office

    Uploaded by

    sdonaldson
    21 views2 pages
    In a letter sent to LaRose’s office last week, Bridget Coontz, Yost’s chief counsel, wrote that Yost’s office doesn’t have the authority to investigate most of what was re-referred.

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    Letter from Attorney General Dave Yost's office to Secretary of State Frank LaRose's office

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    In a letter sent to LaRose’s office last week, Bridget Coontz, Yost’s chief counsel, wrote that Yost’s office doesn’t have the authority to investigate most of what was re-referred.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    21 views2 pages

    Letter From Attorney General Dave Yost's Office To Secretary of State Frank LaRose's Office

    Uploaded by

    sdonaldson
    In a letter sent to LaRose’s office last week, Bridget Coontz, Yost’s chief counsel, wrote that Yost’s office doesn’t have the authority to investigate most of what was re-referred.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    Chief Counsel and Ethics Officer

    Office 614-728-2035
    [email protected]

    September 12, 2024

    Mr. Hun Yi
    Director of Investigations
    Public Integrity Unit
    Ohio Secretary of State’s Office
    180 Civic Center Drive
    Columbus, Ohio 43215
    Via Email: [email protected]

    Dear Mr. Yi:

    I am writing in response to your September 11, 2024 letter and re-referral of possible
    election law violations. Election integrity is an indisputable hallmark of our democracy. I share
    your sentiment that any violation of Ohio’s election laws must be investigated and, where possible,
    pursued. You indicate that the re-referrals are matters which local prosecutors—who have primary
    authority—have not pursued and ask this Office to take up the referrals pursuant to R.C. 109.95.

    By way of background, the Attorney General may initiate a criminal proceeding for
    election fraud for a violation of Ohio law “involving voting, an initiative or referendum petition
    process, or the conducting of an election” by presenting evidence of the violation to the county
    prosecutor. R.C. 109.95. If the county prosecutor fails to proceed with the prosecution “within a
    reasonable period of time”, the attorney general may prosecute. You have asked this Office to
    invoke its R.C. 109.95 authority and pursue the re-referrals.

    Critically, Ohio law treats voting offenses differently than it does offenses related to voter
    registration. Compare, R.C. 3599.11 “False registration; election falsification”, with R.C. 3599.12
    “Illegal voting”. This matters because while R.C. 109.95 grants the Attorney General authority
    over offenses involving voting, it does not give this Office any authority over offenses involving
    registering to vote. The General Assembly chose to limit the Attorney General’s authority in this
    way. And when the General Assembly decides to grant authority, that grant must be strictly
    construed. See, D.A.B.E. v. Toledo-Lucas County Bd. of Health, 96 Ohio St.3d 250 (2002). Here,
    it cannot be read to extend to a completely different, albeit related, category of offenses – voter
    registration offenses.

    30 E. Broad St., 17th Floor | Columbus, Ohio | 43215


    www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov
    The overwhelming majority of re-referrals sent to this Office are voting registration re-
    referrals that a county prosecutor has not pursued. Unfortunately, R.C. 109.95 does not give this
    Office any authority to do anything with those matters. A legislative fix is the only way to fill this
    gap. As for the remaining re-referrals of illegal voting, our Office will review those cases,
    determine which can be prosecuted, and pursue indictments. As always, we stand ready to assist
    the Secretary of State’s Office and we thank you for your continued dedication to preserving the
    integrity of Ohio’s elections.

    Sincerely,

    Bridget C. Coontz

    Bridget C. Coontz
    Chief Counsel

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