Press Releases

COLUMBUS –Today Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced the January Ohio Business Spotlight. A challenging 2020 ended with a flurry of business activity across Ohio. As Ohio kicks off a new year, the Secretary is highlighting growth and success in the logistics and transportation sectors that are so important to businesses in and around the Buckeye State. After all, 60 percent of Americans are within 600 miles of Ohio! These businesses are often small, family run companies that provide products to the stores we shop at, medicine to our hospitals, and serve as the unseen cogs that keep our state running strong while also providing important, well-paying jobs.

COLUMBUS –Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose released the following statement today after State Senator Michael Rulli (R- Salem) introduced Senate Bill 14, legislation that for the first time will place voter registration database systems under the purview of a re-named Board of Voting System Examiners (BVSE).

COLUMBUS –In December, 13,735 new business filings were filed to the Ohio Secretary of State Business Services Division. With the 2020 numbers now final, Ohioans have created a new record of 171,073 new business filings, surpassing 2019’s record of 130,621 new business filings.

COLUMBUS –In accordance with his duty as Ohio Secretary of State and following both federal and state law, Secretary LaRose has recently directed county boards of elections to remove abandoned registrations from the rolls. The US Supreme Court upheld the law as carried out by Secretaries Brown, Blackwell, Taft, Brunner, and Husted, but no previous Ohio Secretary of State has ever provided the same level of transparency or collaboration. The result has been a greater opportunity for identifying errors by the boards and more chances for voters to remain active.

COLUMBUS –Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose cheered the signing of HB 473, a bill advocated by the Secretary that allows Ohio’s state seal to be paired with the state motto.

COLUMBUS- During the previous General Assembly, SB 107 was passed and signed into law. The legislation, championed by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, was sponsored by State Senator Michael Rulli (R-Salem) and enhances transparency by allowing campaign finance reports for local candidates and committees to be filed electronically with county boards of elections. Previously, the only option for voters to obtain a report was to contact their county board of elections.

COLUMBUS – Today the SANS Institute, the global leader in cyber security training and certifications, announced Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose as one of the winners of the SANS 2020 Difference Makers Awards. This prestigious annual awards program honors individuals and teams in the cybersecurity community who have made a measurable and significant difference in security. Through their implementation of security processes or technology, each winner has raised the bar in enabling secure business operations and reducing risk.

COLUMBUS – In November, 12,181 new business filings were submitted to the Ohio Secretary of State Business Services Division. Ohioans have submitted a total of 157,338 new business filings this year versus last year’s record of 130,621 total new filings.

COLUMBUS –Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is alerting Ohio businesses about a phishing email that started today and warning recipients not to click a link in the e-mail alleging to be from the Ohio Secretary of State’s office. The e-mail is not from the Ohio Secretary of State.

COLUMBUS - Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a statement today on the passage of HB 473 in the Ohio House of Representatives. This legislation was sponsored by Ohio Representative J. Todd Smith and would allow the state motto to be used as part of the state seal.

COLUMBUS – Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose today certified the official results of the 2020 Presidential General Election. The Secretary’s signature today marks the completion of the official canvass and certifies winners in the 2020 General Election.

COLUMBUS –Even ahead of the onset of COVID-19, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose was focused on recruiting new poll workers for the 2020 elections. Beginning with a Working Group of select leaders from county boards of elections, plans were put in place early in 2019 to provide innovative and intensive efforts to ensure polling locations were fully staffed on election day. With the dangers of COVID-19, these efforts became exponentially more important.

COLUMBUS -With 15,470 new business filings in October, Ohio has already surpassed the record total for the entirety of 2019. Ohioans have submitted a total of 145,157 new business filings this year versus last year’s record of 130,621 new filings from January to December.

After months of noise about potential catastrophe in Ohio’s 2020 general election, there is reason for relief and maybe even a modest celebration. Regardless of how one feels about the presidential outcome, Ohioans shattered records for registering and voting, with no evidence of meaningful fraud or suppression.

COLUMBUS –The unofficial results from the November 3rd election show 5,812,804 Ohioans voted in the 2020 General Election, already breaking the all-time record of 5,773,777 set in 2008. It’s important to note that there are still 155,188 outstanding absentee ballots and 156,331 provisional ballots that, if legally cast, will be included in the final official results to be released upon final certification on or before November 28th.

COLUMBUS – Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose provides a morning election update. Media are encouraged to download and share.

COLUMBUS – Tomorrow is Election Day! 3.4 million Ohio voters have cast their absentee ballot or voted early – shattering all previous records. Prior to this election, Ohio had never surpassed 2 million total votes in the entirety of the early voting period. With 243,023 absentee ballots still outstanding, Ohio’s early vote total is already 180 percent of the previous early vote record and equals 60 percent of the total number of votes cast in the entire 2016 General Election. This data includes all ballots received and processed through 2:00pm on Monday afternoon.

Who: Frank LaRose, Ohio Secretary of State

COLUMBUS –With five days until the election, 56,789 Ohioans are trained and ready to serve as a poll worker on November 3rd, exceeding the aggregated statewide goal of 55,165. That goal represents 150% of the minimum number of poll workers needed on Election Day. The number of trained poll workers includes 23,649 Democrats, 20,733 Republicans and 12,407 unaffiliated or minor party poll workers. While this is the largest aggregated statewide number of poll workers ever trained for an election in Ohio, a handful of individual counties still lag behind the goal for their county.

COLUMBUS – With 7 days until Election Day, Ohioans continue to vote early in record numbers. Already 2.2 million Ohioans have cast their ballot for the 2020 general election. After all the votes were counted in 2016, 1.9 million Ohioans voted early in-person or by mail. Two and a half times the number of Ohioans are voting early in-person compared to the same time in 2016.