OH SOS von Spakovsky communications
| Tracking # |
24-265 |
| Submitted | June 17, 2024 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Alice Herman
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Ohio Open Records Law, I hereby request the following records:
1) All email communications (including email attachments, and complete email chains) between Secretary of State Frank LaRose (or anyone communicating on his behalf, including office staff) and Hans von Spakovsky (hans.vonspakovsky@heritage.org) sent or received between January 1, 2024 and the date this request is processed.
2) Any email communications, including full email chains and attachments, sent or received by Secretary of State Frank LaRose (or anyone communicating on his behalf, including office staff) between January 1, 2024 and the date this request is processed with the following keywords: "Hans von Spakovsky," "von Spakovsky," and/or "Spakovsky."
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days.
Sincerely,
Alice Herman
From: Secretary of State
Good afternoon,
This email is to acknowledge receipt of your below request for public records, which was received by this office on June 26, 2024. Specifically, you have asked for:
"1) All email communications (including email attachments, and complete email chains) between Secretary of State Frank LaRose (or anyone communicating on his behalf, including office staff) and Hans von Spakovsky (hans.vonspakovsky@heritage.org) sent or received between January 1, 2024 and the date this request is processed.
2) Any email communications, including full email chains and attachments, sent or received by Secretary of State Frank LaRose (or anyone communicating on his behalf, including office staff) between January 1, 2024 and the date this request is processed with the following keywords: "Hans von Spakovsky," "von Spakovsky," and/or "Spakovsky.""
We are reviewing your request and will respond to you within a reasonable time as required by the Ohio Public Records Act.
[cid:image001.png@01DACBAA.D503B600]
Sally Warren | Records Coordinator
Office of the Ohio Secretary of State
O: 614.466.9510
OhioSoS.gov<https://ohiosos.gov/>
This message and any response to it may constitute a public record and thus may be publicly available to anyone who requests it.
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image001
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Ohio Open Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 17, 2024. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Secretary of State
Thank you for following up with our office regarding your request for public records. Our office endeavors to promptly respond to all requests for public records within a reasonable period of time, and, in the interest of fairness, the order in which requests are received by this office.
[cid:image001.png@01DACBAA.D503B600]
Sally Warren | Records Coordinator
Office of the Ohio Secretary of State
O: 614.466.9510
OhioSoS.gov<https://ohiosos.gov/>
This message and any response to it may constitute a public record and thus may be publicly available to anyone who requests it.
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image001
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Ohio Open Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 17, 2024. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Ohio Open Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 17, 2024. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Ohio Open Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 17, 2024. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Ohio Open Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 17, 2024. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Ohio Open Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 17, 2024. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Ohio Open Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 17, 2024. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Secretary of State
Good afternoon. Thank you for following up on your request. I apologize for the delay. Your request is currently in process. The attorney working on your request will respond to you as soon as they can.
[cid:image001.png@01DB1FC6.69BBE9B0]
Sally Warren | Records Coordinator
Office of the Ohio Secretary of State
O: 614.466.9510
OhioSoS.gov<https://ohiosos.gov/>
This message and any response to it may constitute a public record and thus may be publicly available to anyone who requests it.
-
image001
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Ohio Open Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 17, 2024. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Secretary of State
Dear Alice Herman,
This email responds to your public records request dated June 26, 2024, in which you asked for:
1. All email communications (including email attachments, and complete email chains) between Secretary of State Frank LaRose (or anyone communicating on his behalf, including office staff) and Hans von Spakovsky (hans.vonspakovsky@heritage.org) sent or received between January 1, 2024 and the date this request is processed.
1. Any email communications, including full email chains and attachments, sent or received by Secretary of State Frank LaRose (or anyone communicating on his behalf, including office staff) between January 1, 2024 and the date this request is processed with the following keywords: "Hans von Spakovsky," "von Spakovsky," and/or "Spakovsky."
Please see attached responsive records for part one.
Part two is denied as overly broad. See R.C. 149.43(B)(2). It is the responsibility of a requester "to identify with reasonable clarity the records at issue." State ex rel. Zidonis v. Columbus State Community College, 133 Ohio St.3d 122, 2012-Ohio-4228, ¶ 21. Specifically, a public records request must identify, with reasonable clarity, existing records; a request is improper if it is a request to search for information wherever it may exist across an office's records. See State ex rel. Dillery v. Icsman, 92 Ohio St.3d 312, 314 (2001) (a request that asked a public office for "any and all records generated, in the possession of your department, containing any reference whatsoever to Kelly Dillery" was overly broad); State ex rel. Carr v. London Corr. Inst., 144 Ohio St.3d 211, 2015-Ohio-2363, ¶ 22 (a request that required an office to "search through voluminous documents for those that contain certain information" was improper); State ex rel. Shaughnessy v. City of Cleveland, 149 Ohio St.3d 612, 2016-Ohio-8447, ¶ 10 ("The Public Records Act does not compel a public office to do research or to identify records containing selected information.").
Moreover, requesters must describe the records they seek in a way that allows the public office to identify responsive records based on how the office maintains and accesses its records. Zidonis at ¶ 30; see also State ex rel. Zauderer v. Joseph, 62 Ohio App. 3d 752, 755-756 (10th Dist. 1989) (a public records request must comport with the public office's method of record retrieval). Your request is overly broad because it does not provide enough information to allow us to identify responsive records based on the way the Office organizes and accesses its records.
Your request asks for all emails with keywords from one email address. Please be advised that the Ohio Secretary of State's Office organizes and retrieves emails and other communications records by date, topic, and sender and recipient. Therefore, to be sufficiently narrow to allow a response, a request for correspondence records from this office must list the topic, date scope, and both the sender and the recipient of the correspondence records it seeks. See State ex rel. Zauderer v. Joseph, 62 Ohio App. 3d 752, 755-756 (10th Dist. 1989) (a public records request must comport with the public office's method of record retrieval).
We would like to work with you to revise your request so that we can identify the records you seek based on the way our Office organizes and maintains its records. Please feel free to revise your request and reference Public Record Request 24-265 in your correspondence.
Respectfully,
[logo for the Office of Frank LaRose Ohio Secretary of State]
Seth Enlow | Senior Legal Counsel
Office of the Ohio Secretary of State
O: 614.368.0837
OhioSoS.gov<https://ohiosos.gov/>
This message and any response to it may constitute a public record and thus may be publicly available to anyone who requests it.
