COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Eight counties in the state have not completed all parts of an election security directive issued last year by Ohio's secretary of state.
The directive issued by Republican Frank LaRose required all boards of elections in Ohio's 88 counties to complete a comprehensive security checklist intended to strengthen Ohio's election system infrastructure. The deadline was Jan. 31, 2020.
Some requirements in the directive involve areas such as security training, cyber attack detection and background checks.
The Van Wert County Board of Elections in northwest Ohio was found non-compliant after failing to meet the deadline and not having a plan on how to meet the requirements, LaRose said in a release. He said that county was placed on administrative oversight, requiring weekly reports to his office.
A message seeking comment was left with the Van Wert County elections board Thursday.
Elections boards in the other seven counties only need to take some minor actions to be fully compliant, LaRose said. Those boards are in Ottawa, Warren, Trumbull, Carroll, Holmes and Clark counties. He expects they will meet all requirements of the directive by the start of early voting ahead of Ohio's primary election on March 17.
