Ohio prosecutor says indictments for illegal voting included dead man

(The Center Square) – A local prosecutor is calling Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s voter fraud indictment of a man who died two years ago prosecutorial overreach.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley wants Yost to dismiss the indictment of Ramesh Patel, who died in December 2022.

As previously reported by The Center Square, the indictment against Patel said he was not a U.S. citizen and voted in 2014, 2016 and 2018. Patel was 68 and lived in North Royalton.

“This is one of the greatest examples of prosecutorial overreach I have ever witnessed,” O’Malley said. “The practice of indicting the deceased is draconian. This is not how we would have handled this case in my office. I am calling on Ohio Attorney General David Yost to immediately dismiss this indictment.”

O’Malley also said his office has a policy of only indicting living people and has a history of prosecuting voter fraud.

In the last 18 months, Cuyahoga prosecutors convicted two people for voter fraud and indicted Glenford Edwards on seven counts of illegal voting and one count of false registration earlier this week, according to O’Malley.

Other referrals of illegal voting in Cuyahoga County are being reviewed, O’Malley said.

Patel was among six indicted last week, each accused illegal voting. The charges date from 2008 to 2020. All but one face one count of illegal voting, which is a fourth-degree felony. Lorinda Miller, 78 of Hudson, faces two counts.

All of those indicted, except Patel, are legal permanent residents but not U.S. citizens, according to Yost.

Yost said his office continues investigating voter fraud and has made other referrals to county prosecutors.