Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose credited VoteRef.com, a project of the Voter Reference Foundation (VRF), as part of his impetus for a new Ohio election integrity law.

“I’ve got to give credit where credit’s due. There were a couple folks who brought this idea to us just over a year ago … a group called VoteRef [VoteRef.com],” LaRose told Chicago’s Morning Answer radio host Dan Proft this week.

The Data Act – which establishes the Office of Data Analytics and Archives within the Secretary of State’s Office — increased Ohio’s VRF data transparency score by eight points for adding a last activity date, historical records and archives, and standard definitions for the election data.

LaRose said that the legislation means Ohio can serve as a blueprint for other states to increase their data transparency.

Voter Reference Foundation Executive Director Gina Swoboda echoed LaRose’s sentiment: “Ohio is a model for other states to increase their transparency.”