An investigation has uncovered an illegal voter registration form operation taking place in Clark County after thousands of Haitians flooded the Springfield area in Ohio.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is now warning election boards to be vigilant as voter fraud continues to be a major issue in America.
In a media advisory, the secretary of state’s office noted:
“The office’s Election Integrity Unit recently concluded an investigation into the origins of an illegal voter registration form translated into the Haitian Creole language. The Clark County Board of Elections reported this form to our office after rejecting its submission by a local applicant.”
Director of investigations for the Secretary of State’s Public Integrity Division, Hun Yi, said in a memo:
“The Board confirmed they’ve only received one of these unauthorized forms, but they rightly recognized it as illegal and worked with my team to track down its source with the help of a county government assistance office.”
“The form was erroneously included among others outsourced to a foreign language translation service. It garnered national attention considering the high number of Haitian refugees that have recently migrated to the Springfield area, and it serves as an important reminder that boards and designated voter registration agencies should be vigilant about the use of forms submitted to their office,” Yi added.
As many as 30,000 illegal migrants from Haiti have moved into the small town of Springfield, Ohio, after the Biden-Harris administration extended Temporary Protected Status to 300,000 Haitians earlier this year.
Following the migration, Springfield’s population jumped from 60,000 to more than 80,000 overnight, putting a massive strain on hospitals, schools, and social services.
LaRose’s press release noted the ongoing investigation into “evidence of a pattern of fraudulent voter registration activity in multiple counties under the paid employment of a group called Black Fork Strategies. “
According to Black Fork’s website, its goal is “building long-term progressive power” through canvassing and voter registration.
In August, LaRose’s office referred several election fraud cases involving Black Fork for prosecution.
“Prosecutors in 20 counties received referrals for violations involving petition forms to grant minor party status, petition forms to place a constitutional amendment regarding redistricting on the November ballot, and fraudulent voter registration forms submitted by canvassers working on behalf of Black Fork Strategies LLC,” his office said.
“The office’s Election Integrity Unit has been working to build the referrals to assist each county prosecutor with successful enforcement of the law, including criminal charges.”
According to the director of elections for Hamilton County, Sherry Poland, the board of elections uncovered several instances of fraud, including a “stack of registration forms” with identical handwriting submitted by a Black Fork canvasser.
Hamilton County Board of Elections member and chairman of the Ohio Republican Pary, Alex Trianfaflou, said, “The first thing I want to point out is, you know, we use words like ‘anomalies,’ ‘suspicion,’ and everything else because we try to be PC, I guess. But this is fraud, outright fraudulent behavior.”
“Who’s responsible or how they’re responsible, that will be up to somebody other than me,” he added. “It’s plain and obvious to me when you get this many registration cards with the very same handwriting that someone is trying to defraud the elections process in Hamilton County.”
Canvassers using non-English speaking individuals for their own advantage is nothing new.
Last year, LaRose announced the referral of 597 non-citizens for prosecution after they were found to have either registered to vote or cast a ballot illegally.
The number highlights the ongoing efforts by Ohio’s Republican leadership to combat voter fraud.
Yi said in the press release on Thursday:
“All county boards should be vigilant about the integrity of registration forms submitted by any public or private entity, especially third-party groups hiring paid operatives who often work on a bounty system based on the quantity, not quality, of their work.”
“This is a reminder to all of our elections officials to be vigilant as we enter the final weeks of voter registration eligibility for the 2024 general election,” LaRose warned.
“We’re continuing to aggressively pursue third-party groups and paid canvassers who’ve been submitting fraudulent registration forms, and we’re cracking down on the use of illegal forms that aren’t authorized by my office as the law requires. These investigations are happening even as we continue to broaden the enforcement of Ohio’s constitutional citizenship voting requirement.”
READ: Democrats Arrested for Election Fraud After Abusing Absentee Ballot System
