In August 2024, The Gateway Pundit’s Patty McMurray first reported on a Democrat-funded voter registration group accused of turning in hundreds of suspected fraudulent voter registrations—this time in Ohio!
** You can read the full TGP August report here.**
The Gateway Pundit discovered that a group called Black Fork Strategies, which operates across the state of Ohio, was being investigated by the Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose over another alleged fraudulent voter registration campaign.
On their website, Black Fork Strategies brags about registering a stunning 125,000+ voters in Ohio since 2018.
The Hamilton County Board of Elections has turned over several suspicious voter registration applications Ohio Secretary of State’s Public Integrity Division.
According to Hamilton County Board of Elections members, the voter registrations in question were recently turned in by the self-described “progressive” voter registration organization Black Fork Strategies.
In the video below, Hamilton County Director of Elections Sherry Poland discusses three issues she identified with voter registrations tied to Black Fork Strategies, which she claims is running voter registration drives throughout the state of Ohio.
In one example, Ms. Poland explained how they received a voter registration from Black Fork Strategies, and the name of the registrant was ‘Henry Kissinger.’
“We did do a match, the voter registration database as compared to the DMV database, and it was a mismatch on every item listed, any identifying information listed on this registration form. So we again asked Black Fork Strategies for the canvasser who submitted this registration form, and that is on your summary sheet.”
Next, Sherry Poland held up a large stack of voter registrations about an inch thick to show how many registrations one canvasser from Black Fork Strategies turned in with that all appeared to have the same handwriting.
“Lastly, we’ve received a number of registrations, and there’s a table copy for each of you. The stack of registration forms appears to have the same handwriting. And they were all submitted by the same canvasser, who is, again, the contact information listed on your summary.”
Ms. Poland explained that they’ve reached out to the Southwest regional field director for Black Fork Strategies, telling her fellow board members, “When we first noticed these suspicious registrations, we asked her to come to the office.
Democrat BOE member Joseph Mallory added, “I’ve heard of other counties in the state having to deal with suspicious registrations. I think we should refer the matter to the Secretary of State’s Public Integrity Office for further investigation.”
Hamilton County BOE member Alex Triantafilou didn’t mince words when describing the alleged activities of the progressive Black Fork Strategies:
“First thing I want to point out is that we use words like ‘anomalies’ and ‘suspicion’ and everything else because we try to be PC, I guess. But this is fraud! This is outright fraudulent behavior! Who’s responsible, and how are they responsible? That’s all.
“That’ll be up to somebody other than me. But it’s plain and obvious to me when you get this many registration cards with the very same handwriting that someone is trying to defraud the elections process in Hamilton County.
“So, to the extent that there’s any press watching, voter fraud is real! It does happen. It happens oftentimes in the form of phony registrations, all in the same handwriting. So that happens.” the outspoken BOE member said.
Watch:
This is not the first time Black Fork Strategies has turned in suspicious voter registrations to clerks. Last year, on July 17, 2023, the Cuyahoga, OH, Board of Elections spent considerable time discussing multiple irregularities and changes to voter registrations.
On Tuesday The Gateway Pundit reached out to Benjamin Kindel, the Press Secretary and Deputy Communications Director for Media with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office.
Benjamin provided The Gateaway Pundit with an update on the investigation into Black Fork Strategies in the state of Ohio.
Benjamin also informed TGP that the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office created the Ohio Secretary of State’s Public Integrity Division for Ohioans to report suspicious voter integrity issues directly to the state leaders. This tool appears to be working as planned in the great state of Ohio.
Benjamin provided an earlier press release that we missed for some reason on the updates of the SOS investigation.
There are currently ongoing investigations by prosecutors in 20 Ohio counties.
This earlier press release was provided to The Gateway Pundit from the Secretary of State’s Office.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced today that he has formally referred evidence of suspected election law violations to numerous county prosecutors for review and possible criminal prosecution.
“We take every allegation of wrongdoing in our elections seriously, whether it’s a fake signature on a petition, a fraudulent voter registration form or a stolen vote,” said Secretary LaRose.
“Today we’re handing over evidence to prosecutors in 20 counties, where dishonest individuals were apparently trying to game the system. Every one of these has the potential to fraudulently impact an election, and, even though fraud is rare, it’s important to keep it that way by sending a clear message that misconduct won’t be tolerated.”
Prosecutors in 20 counties received referrals for violations involving petition forms to grant minor party status, petition forms to place a constitutional amendment regarding redistricting on the November ballot, and fraudulent voter registration forms submitted by canvassers working on behalf of Black Fork Strategies LLC.
The office’s Election Integrity Unit has been working to build the referrals to assist each county prosecutor with successful enforcement of the law, including criminal charges.
Background: Ohio law gives the Secretary of State the duty to “investigate the administration of election laws, frauds, and irregularities in elections in any county, and report violations of election laws to the Attorney General or Prosecuting Attorney, or both, for prosecution.” (R.C. 33501.05(N)(1))
The law further states: “In the performance of the Secretary of State’s duties as the chief election officer, the Secretary of State may administer oaths, issue subpoenas, summon witnesses, compel the production of books, papers, records, and other evidence, and fix the time and place for hearing any matters relating to the administration and enforcement of the election laws.” (R.C. 33501.05(EE))
To better fulfill these statutory duties, LaRose announced the creation of the office’s first-ever Public Integrity Division in 2022 as part of an ongoing effort to build on Ohio’s record as a national leader in election administration.
The division consolidates many of the office’s longstanding investigative functions, including campaign finance reporting, voting system certification, voter registration integrity, the investigation of election law violations, data retention & transparency, and cybersecurity protocols.
The Ohio General Assembly is currently considering legislation to make the division’s Election Integrity Unit a permanent function of the office.
The office recently announced an expansion of the division, adding top personnel with investigative and law enforcement experience from prior service with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and the United States Secret Service.
The Gateway Pundit will continue to follow these investigations in Ohio.
Of course, this Ohio group Black Fork Strategies is eerily similar to the GBI Strategies group The Gateway Pundit reported on extensively from neighboring Michigan. We will have more information on GBI coming in the days ahead.
The post FIGHTING ELECTION FRAUD – BIG UPDATE: 20 Ohio Counties Launch Investigations into Suspicious Progressive Group that Allegedly Turned In Piles of Phony Voter Registrations appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.