Candidate request for election observers still in process by Secretary of State

COSHOCTON — Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said his office is still reviewing a request from a local politician for neutral observers of the May 3 primary. LaRose visited the Coshocton County Board of Elections on Tuesday.

Local attorney William Todd Drown is challenging incumbent Bob Batchelor for the Republican nomination for judge of Coshocton County Common Pleas Court. Batchelor first won the bench in 2010 over Drown, who ran as a Democrat.

Drown was indicted on April 15 on felony charges of robbery, tampering with evidence and theft in office from an incident on May 24, 2021. He said it related to removal of tires from a blighted property in Conesville, where he serves as village solicitor. Drown contends a village ordinance regarding nuisance properties gave him the right to remove items from the land, the counter argument is that he didn't have the right.

Drown has called the case politically motivated and a direct personal attack on him by who he calls the Republican elite of Coshocton County.

On April 21, Drown released a letter to media addressed to LaRose requesting neutral election observers to oversee the primary in Coshocton County. He briefly went over the matter of his indictment and issues with the local Republican Party. This includes a website sponsored by the party calling Drown a failed politician, businessman and attorney. A headshot of Drown at the top of the page has a red X over it.

"This is the most unfriendly, contentious election in this county's history and I have no confidence that members of the Coshocton County Board of Elections, who are selected by the Coshocton County Republican Committee, will fairly administer the upcoming primary election," Drown wrote in the letter. "The two Republican members of the Board of Elections owe their current job and income and allegiance to the very people who have advocated violence against me by placing a picture of my face with a scope on it on their website."

The Coshocton County Board of Elections had no comment on the letter sent to LaRose's office. The Republican members of the board are Steve Hall and Bob Buxton. The Democrat members are Michelle Darner and Theresa Hartle.

Drown also sent a letter to the Ohio Attorney General's Office on April 19 asking for a political corruption investigation of Batchelor and Coshocton County Prosecutor Jason Given. The AG's office confirmed receiving the letter and encouraged Drown to file a complaint within the office to the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission. Such complaints are kept confidential, the office said.

Confidence in the primary

LaRose said in general voters should have the upmost confidence in the process as his office and boards around the state work hard to ensure safe, fair and impartial elections.

"The board of elections is a completely bipartisan body; half Republicans, half Democrats. Everything they do is by the book and everything they do is fully transparent," LaRose said. "There's nothing to hide at a board of elections. The way they do things is above board."

The visit to Coshocton was a routine stop as LaRose said he's likes to check in with the local boards as his schedule permits. He's been to all 88 boards of elections in Ohio at least once and many twice. Prior to an election, he likes to make sure the boards are ready to go with poll workers and keeping up with absentee voter demands.

The local BOE reported more than 1,100 early voting ballots submitted for the May 3 primary so far. Predicted voter turnout is from 20% to 30%, which is standard for such a primary, said Director Kirstin Ross. She also said they have the needed poll workers for the primary and are generally ready to go for Tuesday.

LaRose wanted to stress that Tuesday's election is separate from one possibly happening on Aug. 2. He said there has been some confusion among voters that they could vote in either primary, but that's not true. The summer election would be for state legislative offices only due to the Ohio Supreme Court striking down several redistricting attempts.

"All of the litigation and court changes has led to uncertainty the last several months. Normally, the work of preparing for an election begins 100 days before. It's a very predictable, time tested, tried and true series of steps we go through. Some of that was compressed and rearranged because of all this litigation," LaRose said. "What I've tried to make clear to Ohioans is there are two things we will never compromise. Those two things are access and integrity."

LaRose is being challenged for the Republican nomination for Secretary of State by John Adams, a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives. The winner will face Democrat Chelsea Clark in the fall.

Former President Donald Trump endorsed LaRose for re-election shortly before a rally Saturday in Delaware County.

Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with close to 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on Twitter at @llhayhurst.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Candidate request for election observers still in process