Speaking to the Akron Press Club on May 29, Frank LaRose described how he would tackle fraud and focus on efficient government if elected the next state auditor. He also defended his decision as Ohio secretary of state to hand over unredacted voter data to the federal government.
LaRose, a Republican from Copley Township, is reaching his two-term limit as secretary of state. Now, he hopes to replace current Auditor Keith Faber, a fellow Republican who has also reached his term limit.
“Restoring public trust through transparency, efficiency and accountability is why I’m running for auditor of state,” LaRose said. “I know this is an office the average person probably doesn’t think much about, but I think it is a platform to restore public trust, and that’s why I embraced it.”
LaRose spoke at the first of two Akron Press Club events featuring the two candidates in the auditor election. Democrat Annette Blackwell will speak at noon on June 5.
To learn more about the upcoming event, visit akronpressclub.org. Individual tickets are $35; a table of eight is $280.
Mandatory performance audits, tackling fraud
If elected, LaRose said he will always ask how local governments and the state spend taxpayer dollars.
“That is your money, my money. Taxpayer dollars that need to be used efficiently and correctly,” he said.
LaRose wants to curb corruption and fraud committed by public officials, particularly Medicaid fraud, he said. To do this, he would use data in public databases to tell a story.
Although it isn’t corruption or fraud, LaRose described how his office used data to discover that absentee ballots had not been delivered in Mahoning County. That discovery allowed voters to get their ballots, he said.
He also wants to implement compulsory performance audits for public entities, like cities and libraries, to improve efficiency. To do this, he would run a “per capita analysis” by dividing total operating costs by the total number of people served. An inefficiency, he said, could appear as a municipality spending more than other similar-sized municipalities.
Although the results would be advisory, he said the recommended cuts would likely have to be made using a scalpel, not a hatchet. Voters, he said, would need to use the ballot box to enforce the recommendations.
“The state should be able to front that cost, and then you would pay it back out of the money you saved over time,” LaRose said.
What are the duties of the state auditor?
The state auditor performs a different function than county auditors. In short, the Ohio auditor oversees how taxpayer dollars are spent through financial audits and investigates fraud and corruption in the public sector.
The state office also offers consulting and training for local governments and maintains public records for government spending.
County auditors serve as their localities’ chief fiscal officers.
LaRose defends handling of Ohio voter data
As the Trump administration sued states that refused to hand over unredacted voter registration data to the Department of Justice, LaRose turned over a copy of the state’s voter registration database to federal officials in February.
Lawsuits against Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin have since been dismissed, according to the National Conference for State Legislatures. The other 21 lawsuits are still pending.
LaRose told the Akron Press Club that this topic is a “partisan information effort” based on “hyperbole and not a whole lot of accurate information.”
“We have provided the public information, which you can get on my website,” he said.
His office provided the last four digits of voters’ social security numbers and driver’s license numbers, which he said the federal government already has.
He did this, LaRose said, because the Department of Justice ensures states maintain accurate voter rolls. Although the NCSL noted that the DOJ has not historically requested unredacted voter lists from states.
Bryce Buyakie is an Akron-based reporter who covers the courts and public safety for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com or on X @bryce_buyakie.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Frank LaRose eyes Ohio auditor seat with focus on fraud, efficiency
Reporting by Bryce Buyakie, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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