The organization was founded in 2007 and describes its mission as fighting for criminal justice reform, racial justice and an expansion of voting rights.
According to Prentiss Haney, a board member of the organization, the FBI spent hours questioning the staff and seized documents and computer files.
Federal agents also went to the homes of people who have worked with the organization, seeking interviews and information about alleged voter fraud, Haney said.
Democrat nominees for the state's top races issued statements Friday saying they were troubled by the FBI raid.
“Any attempts by federal law enforcement to intimidate eligible Ohioans from registering to vote are unacceptable,” said Dr. Amy Acton, the state’s former public health director, who won the state’s Democratic primary for governor and is challenging Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.
The Justice Department has sued at least 30 states and the District of Columbia after they refused to hand over detailed voter data that includes dates of birth and partial Social Security numbers. It has said in court filings that it wants the information so it can run it through a Department of Homeland Security program that checks U.S. citizenship.
