Weekly Roundup | A look at voting integrity in Ohio

Welcome to the Weekly Roundup, where we bring you the top stories from today’s Dayton Daily News and major stories from the past week you may have missed.

This week, that includes a look at voting integrity in Ohio and reaction to changes proposed by Secretary of State Frank LaRose. We also investigated the history of Haitians in Springfield and how that population grew so quickly.

Our mission is to help you understand what’s really going on in the Dayton region. This includes comprehensive coverage of local governments and agencies, hard-hitting investigations, and in-depth analyses of important issues.

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Questions raised about election fraud allegations and voting changes proposed by Ohio Secretary of State LaRose

Credit: AP

Critics are questioning the motives of Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose after multiple recent actions by his office.

• What did LaRose do? He recently proposed multiple new voting restrictions, ordered boards of election to reduce access to ballot drop boxes and announced more than 1,000 cases of alleged election fraud since 2019, mostly involving noncitizens and few of which resulted in prosecutions or convictions.

• What opponents of the moves say: “I would like the secretary of state to focus on inviting voters in and getting ready for election 2024 rather than thinking of additional obstacles or to cause Ohioans to question the integrity of our elections,” said Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, a nonpartisan group focused on voting rights and election issues.

• What LaRose says: “It’s absurd to claim that pursuing election integrity leads to distrust or disenfranchisement. Ohio has some of the most expansive voting access in the nation, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have rules to hold it accountable.”

• Is voter fraud an issue? Voter fraud by American citizens or noncitizens in the U.S. is exceedingly rare, according to studies by groups such as the liberal-leaning Brennan Center for Justice, the conservative Heritage Foundation and the libertarian-leaning CATO Institute.

The true story about why and how Haitian immigrants came to Springfield

Credit: Bill Lackey

Reporting by the Dayton Daily News has documented that the influx of Haitian immigrants to the region picked up during the pandemic, when local employers were desperate for workers. This week’s story focuses on how those immigrants got to Springfield.

• The population grew rapidly: Rocking Horse Community Health Center data from 2018 showed only three Creole-speaking pediatric patients received services from the center over the entire year. In 2022, that number grew to more than 400.

• What is bringing that population here? Springfield in September 2023 held a meeting with six local staffing companies. Minutes of that meeting obtained by the News-Sun show the staffing company representatives claim the Haitians were coming here on their own because of Springfield’s affordable living, denying that they were busing people in as city residents alleged.

• Many enticed by word of mouth: While staffing companies may have played a role in bringing some Haitians to Springfield, many others were lured here by positive word of mouth. One major draw was the affordable housing.

• Challenges remain: The Greater Springfield Partnership notes Haitian workers pay taxes and invest in the local economy, and advocates working with the Haitian community to overcome challenges, aimed primarily at driver education, healthcare, and breaking down language and cultural barriers.