OHIO — Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said Monday he has referred evidence of suspected election law violations to prosecutors in 20 counties for review, which could lead to criminal prosecution.

“We take every allegation of wrongdoing in our elections seriously, whether it’s a fake signature on a petition, a fraudulent voter registration form or a stolen vote,” said LaRose in a release. “Today we’re handing over evidence to prosecutors in 20 counties, where dishonest individuals were apparently trying to game the system. Every one of these has the potential to fraudulently impact an election, and, even though fraud is rare, it’s important to keep it that way by sending a clear message that misconduct won’t be tolerated.”

The evidence prosecutors received include petition forms to grant minority party status, petition forms to place a constitutional amendement regarding redistricting on the November ballot and some fraudulent voter registration forms submitted by canvassers working on behalf of Black Fork Strategies LLC. according to the release from LaRose's office. 

Black Fork Strategies LLC. wrote in a statement that it didn't not submit the fraudulent petitions in question. 

“Black Fork Strategies, LLC shares Ohio's Board of Elections' mission to ensure that every Ohioan can exercise their right to vote. We have fully cooperated with boards of elections and the Ohio’s secretary of state’s office on all requests for information regarding Black Fork Strategies voter registration program," Black Fork Stategies wrote in a statement in part. 

According to the release, Ohio law gives the Secretary of State "the duty to 'investigate the administration of election laws, frauds, and irregularities in elections in any county, and report violations of election laws to the Attorney General or Prosecuting Attorney, or both, for prosecution.'"