Bill to protect Ohio elections officials introduced in state senate

COLUMBUS — In response to threats against Ohio's elections officials, a bipartisan Senate bill has been introduced to prevent their residential and family information from being included in public records.

State Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, and State Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, have introduced Senate Bill 173, which would amend state law to specify that election officials are designated public service workers for purposes of the public records law.

"Election officials are the backbone of our electoral process," Gavarone said in a news release. "Unfortunately, we live in a politically charged world and bad actors, regardless of political party, have been known to lash out at these workers who are only interested in helping ensure our elections run smoothly. Senate Bill 173 will keep them and their families safe while they work to maintain Ohio’s reputation for running the most secure elections in the country."

Extremists have targeted election workers

“Election workers have increasingly been the targets of threats by extremists and this is the least that we can do to ensure their safety,” DeMora said in the news release. “Election workers should be able to do their job without the worry of harassment and assault.”

The classification would ensure that information about election officials' residences and families are redacted from public records before their release.

Gavarone, whose district includes Ottawa County, told the News-Messenger that she has heard of threats made against election officials in Ohio and other states.

"(DeMora) and I were at a conference this summer where they were talking about aggression toward election workers," Gavarone said. "That was a national conference. It's happening all over the country. I talked to an official in Lucas County and he shared this information with me."

Gavarone was referencing an incident during the August 2022 special election when an individual entered a polling location at Larchmont Elementary School in Toledo and made threats against the Democratic Party and said he would shoot the voting machines.

'There have been a lot of threatening calls'

"I'd been hearing that there have been a lot of threatening calls," Gavarone said. "That person has been caught and arrested."

"This is something that's important. Why should their personal addresses be put out there for people, especially with this kind of aggression?" Gavarone said. "Elections officials are just trying to make sure the elections run smoothly, to make sure they are done efficiently and accurately. It just makes sense that we would protect them ... especially their personal address and other personal information."

Gavarone said SB 173 was officially entered on Tuesday. In addition to Gavarone and DeMora, the bill currently has six co-sponsors.

Because it was recently introduced, Gavarone does not expect passage before the November election, but would like to see it happen before the next primary in March.

"We are going to work as quickly as possible to make it happen. It's very important. Our poll workers should not be subjected to this. What I am hearing is that they are fielding a whole lot of aggressive and angry phone calls," Gavarone said. "We need to make sure our election officials are safe ... It's unacceptable. It should never happen and we should at least make sure we are protecting the personal and residential information of these vital workers."

rlapointe@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Bill would keep election officials' personal information from public