Ohio

Ohio’s LaRose pushes back on voter fraud critics, Democrats

Published

4 months ago

February 26, 2026

Ohio’s LaRose pushes back on voter fraud critics, Democrats

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose discussed voter fraud and Ohio’s efforts to prevent it during a recent radio appearance.

LaRose appeared on “The Bill Cunningham” radio show, where he defended the state’s efforts to minimize voter fraud. A clip posted on X shows audio of LaRose arguing that policies aimed at preventing voter fraud are necessary even though cases are rare.

Here’s what to know.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose says voter fraud in Ohio is rare, compares prevention efforts to TSA security

In the clip, LaRose says that Democrats claim voter fraud is rare, and should be ignored.

“The left claims that voter fraud is rare, so we should just ignore it,” he said. “Well, airplane hijackings are also rare — we don’t abolish the TSA. The reason why we keep voter fraud rare in states like Ohio because we do these very things that they’re trying to take away from me.”

LaRose announced the inaugural meeting of the new Ohio Election Integrity Commission, which replaces what he called the flawed Ohio Elections Commission, in January 2026. The new committee, he says, will be used in “enforcing Ohio’s election laws, reviewing alleged violations, and ensuring accountability in matters relating to voting.”

In October 2025, LaRose said that he forwarded more than 1,000 cases of voter fraud to the U.S. Department of Justice. The cases involved 1,084 noncitizen individuals who appear to have registered to vote unlawfully in Ohio, and 167 noncitizens who appear to have also cast a ballot in a federal election since 2018.

In February 2026, President Donald Trump said Republicans should “nationalize” elections. He also accused Democrats of bringing migrants into the United States to illegally vote, a claim that is not backed by evidence, USA TODAY reports.

Voter fraud in the U.S. is considered rare nationwide, according to NPR, but there are still debates from both political sides on how frequently it occurs.

What is voter fraud?

Electoral fraud is defined as illegally interfering with the process of an election, according to Ballotpedia. This includes in-person voter fraud, absentee or mail ballots and illegal voter suppression.

Criminal penalties can include fines or imprisonment for up to five years, according to U.S. code. In Ohio, election interference can carry a felony of the fourth degree, according to Ohio Code.

Voter fraud is often a topic of debate among Democrats and Republicans, where organizations such as the conservative Heritage Foundation maintains a database claiming to show nearly 1,500 cases of election fraud since the year 2000.

Meanwhile, research by law professor Justin Leavitt published in 2014 found 31 cases of in-person voter fraud among billions of ballots cast from 2000–2014, according to Ballotpedia.

Source link

Click to comment

Ohio

Cincinnati Children’s opened 6 locations in 2025. Here’s why

Published

5 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Press Room

Cincinnati Children’s opened 6 locations in 2025. Here’s why

Cincinnati Children’s is expanding its access to care across the region, including in Northern Kentucky.

The health system reported in its latest Community Impact Report, released to the public June 9, that six new locations opened in 2025, including facilities in previously underserved communities such as Clermont and Clinton counties. Rural areas often have limited access to specialized and emergency care, placing residents at a higher risk of health challenges and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here are the new locations:

Brandon and Kelly Janszen Union Building, 2015 Children’s Way, Union, Kentucky.
Crestview Hills Urgent Care, 2765 Chapel Place, Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
Children’s Eastgate, 4315 Ivy Pointe Blvd., Union Township, Ohio.
Loveland Primary Care, 10554 Loveland-Madeira Road, Loveland, Ohio.
Wilmington Primary Care, 1150 W. Locust St., Suite 500, Wilmington, Ohio.
New Richmond School-Based Health Center, 1135 Bethel-New Richmond Road, New Richmond, Ohio.

Cincinnati Children’s is one of the top-ranked children’s hospitals in the Midwest. The medical professionals at the system’s more than 50 sites provided care in 1.75 million encounters with patients during the July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025 fiscal year, spokesman Barrett Brunsman said.

Some locations are first of their kind

In Boone County, the Brandon and Kelly Janszen building opened at the hospital’s Union location in April 2025, becoming the first in Northern Kentucky to offer both primary and specialty care, including offering behavioral health counselors, lab services, X-ray and ultrasound.

In Kenton County, the hospital opened its first urgent care in Northern Kentucky in July 2025 as part of renovations at the Crestview Hills location, offering residents access to pediatric providers on evenings and weekends.

In Ohio, the Eastgate location opened in October, combining specialty clinics, outpatient surgery and an urgent care center in “the first of its kind on the East Side for Cincinnati Children’s,” where some main campus surgeons and providers now see patients, Brunsman said.

Two primary care centers also opened in 2025: Wilmington, the only primary care in Clinton County dedicated exclusively to children from newborns through teens; and Loveland, which offers closer care to families who once drove farther.

Cincinnati Children’s also introduced the New Richmond School-Based Health Center in September 2025, after reporting over 7,000 patient encounters in 2023 from the village’s ZIP code, including 2,375 without an identified primary care provider, Brunsman said. The new health center is within walking distance for 1,000 middle and high school students, and is open to their families and other children in the community.

The school-based center was funded by a grant from Ohio’s Appalachian Community Innovation Centers program, obtained by New Richmond Schools. Across the other five new locations, Cincinnati Children’s invested around $141 million in renovations, design and acreage, the hospital noted.

Source link

Ohio

Woman sentenced for driving Postal Service truck while intoxicated

Published

15 hours ago

June 11, 2026

Press Room

Woman sentenced for driving Postal Service truck while intoxicated

NEWTON FALLS, Ohio (WKBN) – A woman accused of driving intoxicated while working for the Postal Service in a mail truck entered a plea Tuesday in her case.

Michele Kellar, 47, of Warren, pleaded guilty to OVI, a first-degree misdemeanor, according to court records.

Court records state that she was sentenced to 12 months of probation and her license was suspended for a year, with limited driving privileges. She can also serve three days in a driver’s intervention program.

Trumbull County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Kellar in March after those living on Anderson Anthony Road NW in Braceville reported seeing the driver of a mail truck at the end of their driveway had passed out. They reported that they were able to wake the driver up, but said she drove off.

Deputies found the mail truck down the road, where she had driven off into a yard. According to the police report, the woman appeared very intoxicated with glassy eyes and slurred speech.

At the time of her arrest, a spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service confirmed that Kellar was an employee but declined to comment further. WKBN reached out Thursday for more information on Kellar’s current employment status, but a spokesperson said the Postal Service does not disclose internal administrative actions.

Source link

Ohio

Storms bring down trees and knocks out power to thousands in Northeast Ohio

Published

1 day ago

June 11, 2026

Press Room

Storms bring down trees and knocks out power to thousands in Northeast Ohio

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Severe thunderstorms rolled through Northeast Ohio on Wednesday night, bringing down trees and knocking out power to thousands.

The heaviest damage seemed to be in Lorain County in the city of Lorain and Amherst. The Amherst Fire Department said there are large trees down on Jackson Street and Cleveland Avenue.