COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and State Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) introduced Senate Bill 71 on Tuesday, a new piece of legislation that aims to increase election transparency through the use of technology. The DATA Act represents the first significant attempt by any state to modernize and streamline the way Ohio defines and archives election records in over 60 years.
“The DATA Act, in addition to the laws I wrote to require a photo ID to vote and…enact some of the most stringent post-election auditing measures in the country, continues to give Ohioans the transparency and trust in their elections that they’ve demanded,” said Gavarone. The legislation comprises four themes: data, analysis, transparency, and archive.
LaRose said, “It’s all about making sure that the public is empowered with accurate data so they can look at how elections are run and have confidence in knowing that when the election is over, the true voice of the people was heard.” The DATA Act aims to establish consistent definitions of digital election data, creating a centralized Office of Data Analytics and Archives that can serve as a clearinghouse for retaining and reviewing electronic election records.
Transparency is also a significant component of the legislation, with the goal of crowdsourcing and platforming election data for public scrutiny. The ultimate objective of the DATA Act is to use the newly created Office of Data Analytics and Archives to publish election data and results online, allowing for full transparency for results, both immediately following an election for auditing purposes and over time for comparative analysis year-over-year.
