Grant funding available in county

CADIZ — The Harrison County Community Foundation (HCCF) in partnership with the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO) is accepting grant applications from nonprofits, schools and public organizations for projects and programs ben efiting Harrison County residents and communities.

The 2023 application period for grant funding opens Aug. 1 and closes Sept. 12.

HCCF and FAO’s I’m a Child of Appalachia® ers to help counter various pressing issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, including increased stress and decreased staffing levels.

Governor DeWine has also placed enhanced focus on the wellness of first responders through the creation of the Ohio Office of First Responder Wellness within the Ohio Department of Public Safety. The new statewide office focuses exclusively

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Lawmakers included funding for the project, called the DATA Act, in the state’s new biennial operating budget. The legislation, announced in February by Secretary LaRose and State Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green), represents the first-ever substantive effort by any state to adopt a clear and consistent method for retaining election data.

“Election officials haven’t been required to keep electronic records after an election, so they’re often just erasing and discarding the data instead of archiving it for transparency,”said LaRose. “There’s also no standard definition for these records, which leads to confusing outcomes for anyone trying to analyze election results. We’re about to change all of that. This legislation is really a game-changer for election integrity, and I’m proud that Ohio is once again leading the way.”

LaRose previously outlined the four major components of the DATA Act:

DATA: States have generally failed to adopt consistent definitions of digital election data, leading to confusing and often con- flicting auditing outcomes. The DATA Act codifies standard definitions of key election data points so post-election results can be analyzed more accurately.

ANALYSIS: The DATA Act creates a centralized Office of Data Analytics and Archives within the Office of the Secretary of State that can serve as a clearinghouse for the retention and review of electronic election records.

TRANSPARENCY: The DATA Act helps build trust in democracy by crowdsourcing and platforming election data for public scrutiny. The newly created Office of Data Analytics and Archives will publish election data online, both following an election for auditing purposes and over time for comparative analysis yearover-year.

ARCHIVE: The DATA Act codifies a process by which election data – local, state, and federal – must be transferred to the Secretary of State’s Office of Data Analytics and Archives for retention and public disclosure.

LaRose thanked Governor Mike DeWine and state lawmakers for supporting the initiative, particularly Senate President Matt Huffman, Senate Finance Chair Matt Dolan, House Speaker Jason Stephens, House Finance Chair Jay Edwards, and bill sponsor Sen. Theresa Gavarone.