Published: Friday, December 13, 2019 @ 2:31 AMUpdated: Friday, December 13, 2019 @ 2:30 AMBy: The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio Ohio's elections chief referred 18 voters for investigation this week who allegedly voted twice in last year's general election.

Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said the voters referred to prosecutors Wednesday were identified through the Electronic Registration Information Center, a data-sharing partnership among several states.

The review found 10 Ohioans who first voted in another state before voting in Ohio and another eight who voted first in Ohio before voting again elsewhere, LaRose's office said.

Cases were from eight Ohio counties: Cuyahoga, Franklin, Geauga, Hamilton, Lorain, Medina, Summit and Wayne. Each county had either one or two cases where allegations are being reviewed.

Last week, LaRose referred more than 350 apparent non-citizens to prosecutors for investigation. A coalition of voting-rights groups pushed back against the effort, saying the probes rarely turn up serious offenses or intentional fraud but intimate and scare immigrant communities.

LaRose said one of the big reasons that voter fraud is so rare is because states are "stepping up to enforce the law whenever it is broken.

Originally posted here:

18 voters accused of voting in two different states in 2018 - WHIO