Voting rights groups in Ohio are being lauded for their oversight efforts which uncovered massive errors in the state's recent bid to remove hundreds of thousands of voters from its rolls. The inspection, which was carried out primarily by nonprofit volunteers, found that more than 40,000 voters were mistakenly included on the state's to-be-deleted list.
"It definitely showed that Ohio's registration system needs a major upgrade," Jen Miller, the director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, told Cheddar on Monday. "We can't be using a policy as severe as a purge when we can't even be sure that our purge lists are correct."
In an unusual move, this past August Ohio's Secretary of State Frank LaRose publically released a list of 235,000 voters that were set to be deleted from the state's registry. By reviewing the long spreadsheet, the League of Women Voters and several other groups uncovered gross inaccuracies, including the inclusion of Miller's name.
Yet Secretary LaRose, a Republican, has praised the process, saying his office undertook the most transparent review of Ohio's voting rolls to date. "Because of our collaboration with outside organizations, the proper safeguards are in place to ensure any eligible voter will have the opportunity to have their voice heard," LaRose said in a statement after revising the list.
The list maintenance process, as it's officially called, is legally mandated in Ohio and seeks to clear the state's system of deceased residents, inactive voters, or people who have moved out of state. Voter purging, however, has become a major issue nationwide as Republican-led initiatives in several states have sought to remove voters through controversial registration requirements, which critics say primarily target minority or Democratic voters.
Other oversight groups that participated in the review include the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, All Voting is Local, and the Fair Elections Center.
President Trump spoke in Nashville on Tuesday at The American Farm Bureau Convention. This is the first time we have heard from the President since the release of White House tell-all "Fire and Fury." Washington Examiner media reporter Eddie Scarry, weighs in as Trump made comments.
Illinois state legislators are crafting legislation to help the state welcome innovation in cryptocurrency. Illinois state Rep. Michael Zalewski (D) explains the market opportunity he sees in this space.
Oprah Winfrey for President? Former U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power on Obama's final year, and the Golden Globes kick off a new chapter in Hollywood. With The Young Turks, Extra, Magnolia Pictures, CBN News, Red Alert Politics Dr. Evan Antin, and more.
After serving more than 40 years in the Senate, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) will retire at the end of the year. All eyes are on Mitt Romney, who now has a clear path to the Senate, and the ambitions to get him there.
Former UN Ambassador Samantha Power says North Korea was--and still is--the "hardest problem in the world."
The state legislator, a Democrat representing the 23rd district, says that the technology offers the government a chance to "hold information in an individualized way."
Is Attorney General Jeff Sessions doing the legalization movement a favor by rolling back Obama-era policies? Red Alert Politics' Lauren Cooley, and Democratic Coalition's Jarad Geldner, join Cheddar to break down what the move means for the country's booming marijuana market.
America is abuzz with talk of Oprah running for president in 2020. Should she run? The Young Turks' Emma Vigeland and The Daily Caller's Nick Givas discuss that and more on this week's edition of "Agree to Disagree."
Samantha Power, who served under President Barrack Obama, says that "we are locked at the hip with them" and advises the Trump administration on the best next step.
Nate Madden, CRTV's Congressional Correspondent, discusses Michael Wolff's book "Fire and Fury," which has raised questions about the president's mental fitness for office.
