Ohio Secretary of State program helps domestic violence victims keep information private
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Jul. 14—Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose used a stop in Toledo on Tuesday to remind voters of a program that helps domestic abuse victims keep their street addresses private in their public voter registration records.
"You talked about the long path to recovery and getting your life back together," Mr. LaRose said at the YWCA of Northwest Ohio, which operates a domestic violence shelter and offers comprehensive related services. "My hope is just one small part of a survivor's journey is to be empowered once again to be a voter."
The law creating the secretary of state's "Safe at Home" program passed in 2015, but the Ohio Senate is reviewing a proposed expansion of it that was approved by the Ohio House of Representatives last spring.
"We know that when we're talking domestic violence that's when the danger really escalates ... it doesn't stop just because someone left that relationship," Rachael Gardner, YWCA domestic violence and sexual violence services director, said. "Safe at Home puts some layers to help that person be safe."
The law hides a participant's permanent residential address in the public record of their voter registration by issuing them a substitute post office box address, making it that much harder for a person's abuser to locate them with public records.
"For most of us that's not a concern. Voting is a public act, it's a community act, so being listed as a registered voter is not a concern," Mr. LaRose said. "For these survivors of violent crime who have a real credible threat against them from a violent person, it presents a real threat to their safety."
Mr. LaRose said this type of program isn't common in many states, and he found Ohio's was underutilized when he came into office in 2019. Only a few hundred people were signed up, but the number has grown to 1,300 since its relaunch earlier this year, he said.
"We're trying to get the word out so no one has to make the choice between the right to vote and your personal safety," he said.
The expansion pending in the Ohio General Assembly would extend the program to real estate transactions and child‑custody cases.
Mr. LaRose, whose office handles business filings as well as elections administration, also hosted a business roundtable at the Toledo Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.
For more information about Safe at Home, visit ohiosos.gov.
