(The Center Square) – Secretary of State Frank LaRose is sending evidence of voter fraud to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and attorneys general in seven other states for prosecution.

LaRose announced Tuesday he found potential fraud in noncitizen registration and double votes in Ohio, Virginia, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, South Carolina and Washington, D.C.

The accusations came during ongoing reviews of the Ohio Voter Registration Database with state and federal information. He said he found evidence of 30 noncitizen registrations in Ohio and 11 people who voted in Ohio, the other seven states, and Washington, D.C.

“We must send a clear message that election fraud won’t be tolerated,” LaRose said. “The only way to maintain Ohio’s high standard of election integrity is to enforce the law whenever it’s broken. Through the investigations of our Public Integrity Division’s Election Integrity Unit, we are rooting out lawbreakers so we can bring accountability and justice.”

LaRose established the nation’s first Public Integrity Division in 2022. It consolidated several of the secretary of state’s investigation efforts, including campaign finance reporting, voting system certification, voter registration integrity, the investigation of election law violations, data retention and transparency and cybersecurity protocols.

LaRose can investigate but not prosecute. He must refer potential crimes to the attorney general or local district attorneys.

Since 2019, LaRose has referred hundreds of incidents for prosecution.

“Critics of Ohio’s election integrity efforts may try to minimize the significance of these referrals, as though some small amount of election crime is acceptable,” LaRose wrote in a letter to Yost. “Even one illegal vote can spoil the outcome of an election for the citizenry at large, whether it be a school levy, majority control of a legislative chamber, or even a statewide election contest. Just this last election, a single vote in Licking County decided the outcome of a local levy after the final certified count.”

(The Center Square) – The Carolinas are first and fourth in a new report on the most sought-after states for relocation by American residents.

U.S. News & World Report said it’s “data on the top cities and states that U.S. adults have searched online this year shows the focus is primarily on areas in the South, Southeast, and West, as well as coastal regions across the country.” South Carolina was No. 1 and North Carolina No. 4 in a top 10 limited to Idaho (sixth) and Arkansas (ninth) west of the Mississippi River.

Tennessee was second, Delaware third, Maine fifth, West Virginia seventh, Alabama eighth and Mississippi 10th. The top 10, the magazine says, vary in climate, lifestyle and job opportunities and come together in consistency with “plenty of outdoor recreational opportunities.”

The report is based on total internet searches.

The Carolinas each check boxes for being coastal, having mountains and being in the South. The states in the bottom 10 were noted for the albatrosses of a high cost of living, extreme weather, population density and tax burden – again, areas where both of the Carolinas score well at the opposite end of the spectrum.

U.S. News & World Report said 16 of the top 20 searched cities are in the Sun Belt. South Carolina’s Bluffton (first), Myrtle Beach (third) and Greenville (eight), and North Carolina’s Winston-Salem (ninth) made the top 10.

(The Center Square) – The wait will soon be over for Georgians who qualify for the special tax refunds approved by the General Assembly this year. 

Gov. Brian Kemp said Monday the Department of Revenue will begin issuing the refunds this week from the $1 billion tax cut. 

The tax refunds are capped at $250 for single filers and married individuals filing separately, $375 for head of household filers, and $500 for married individuals filing jointly.

Taxpayers who filed in 2023 and 2024 are eligible if they do not have an outstanding balance with the Department of Revenue, according to information from Kemp’s office. 

“Because we’ve managed our state’s resources wisely, we’re again able to return money to hardworking Georgians who know how best to use it,” Kemp said.  “Along with our acceleration of the largest income tax rate cut in state history, this latest refund is just one more way we’re working to support the people of our state, their families, and their businesses, because that’s not the government’s money, it’s theirs!”

State lawmakers also approved a rollback of the state’s flat income tax rates from 5.39% to 5.19%, the second rollback since 2022, according to Kemp. 

The revenue department has set up a Surplus Tax Eligibility Tool for Georgians who want to know more about their refund. 

“Our department is ready to get this third round of refunds out the door efficiently and securely,” Georgia Revenue Commissioner Frank O’Connell said.