(This story was updated to add new information.)
Did you get an official-looking letter claiming you may not be registered to vote in Ohio?
The Center for Voter Information is mailing voter registration forms to addresses across Ohio, and confused residents are taking to social media or calling their county boards of elections to question if it is legitimate. It’s not the first time the center has sent mailings to Ohioans. The group posted absentee ballot applications to Ohio residents during the 2020 election, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported at the time.
So what is the Center for Voter Information? And are the forms the group is mailing out real? Here’s what to know.
Center for Voter Information mailing voter registration forms to Ohioans. Are they legitimate?
The center’s letters resemble something that might be sent out by Ohio officials, but the group is not affiliated with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office or any boards of election, officials state in social media posts.
According to the Seneca County Board of Election, the letters indicate residents may not be registered voters. However, they “have no bearing Ohio voter registration,” the board states on Facebook.
The letters aren’t “nefarious” even though they didn’t come from a government agency, according to a Facebook post from the Madison County Board of Elections. And the forms can be used to register to vote if needed, the board continues.
The absentee ballot forms mailed during the 2020 election were also valid, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, said at the time.
What is the Center for Voter Information?
The nonpartisan Center for Voter Information is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit based in Washington D.C. Its tax status means the group doesn’t need to disclose its donors.
The Center for Voter Information and the Voter Participation Center sent over 350,000 voter registration forms to Ohioans in June, Tom Lopach, president and CEO of both, said in an emailed statement. It’s part of a nationwide push to increase voter registration among historically underrepresented groups — people of color, youth and unmarried women.
“CVI and VPC use the very same voter-registration forms used by county election officials,” Lopach said in the statement. “In fact, we provide samples of our mail packages to state election officials before mailers reach residents. If an individual receives our mailer and is already registered to vote, they can simply discard it, and we make this clear in the letter that voters receive from our organizations.”
In 2022, LaRose warned that the Center for Voter Information and the Voter Participation Center, run by the same group, were sending misleading voter information. He said the group’s letters mimic official government documentation and claimed the group was using inaccurate data, sending forms to individuals at the wrong address, claiming voters are not registered when they in fact are, and causing confusion with voters nationwide.
Lopach was chief of staff to Democratic Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during the 2015-2016 election cycle, and chief of staff to U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-Montana) from 2010 through 2014.
What is the deadline to register to vote in Ohio?
The deadline to register to vote for the Nov. 3 general election is Oct. 5, 2026, according to the Ohio secretary of state.
How to register to vote in Ohio
You can register to vote online via the secretary of state’s office or VoteOhio.gov. You can also register by mail using the National Mail Voter Registration form available on the Ohio Secretary of State website, or in person at boards of elections, public libraries and Bureau of Motor Vehicles locations.
You need to have the following information to register online:
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Group not tied to Ohio Secretary of State sending voter registration letters
Reporting by Chad Murphy, USA TODAY NETWORK / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Chad Murphy, USA TODAY NETWORK | USA TODAY Network
