Both major candidates for Ohio governor have taken sides on Flock surveillance cameras while Anderson Township's 16 license plate readers remain shut off.

Democratic candidate Amy Acton called for a statewide ban on Flock cameras in a Tuesday, Sept. 8 social media post, according to WKRC reporting. Her campaign confirmed she would support bipartisan legislation banning Flock across Ohio, cleveland.com reported.

Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy opposes a ban. He said at the Allen County Fair that the cameras should never be used to spy on people in private spaces, including homes and cars, calling that "a hard boundary." His campaign did not respond to detailed policy questions from The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com about what restrictions he would support.

The gubernatorial debate comes while all 16 Flock cameras in Anderson Township remain offline. Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey paused the county's entire 75-camera network on Sept. 3, stopping license plate recording and cutting personnel access to the system.

Anderson Township Trustee Tom Hodges had planned to request a pause at a township meeting that same evening before McGuffey made her countywide announcement. Hodges said data-sharing beyond the sheriff's office concerned him.

"The fact that this data was being shared with so many other agencies that have no accountability to the residents of Anderson Township" troubled him, Hodges told WLWT. He said he was not confident safeguards were in place to protect residents from potential abuse.

McGuffey described the action as a pause, not a contract cancellation, and said no deputies had misused the technology. The county can stop making payments to Flock during the pause. No timeline has been set for when the cameras could return.

The township pays $3,000 per year for each of 10 cameras, funded by the 2024 Public Safety levy. The sheriff's office paid for the original six.

Ohio has no statewide rules governing how long police may keep Flock data, who may access it or how use must be audited, according to a cleveland.com review of state law.

Two Republican state lawmakers are drafting separate bills. State Sen. Al Cutrona of Canfield plans legislation requiring government-held Flock data to be deleted within 10 days. State Rep. Levi Dean of Xenia plans a bill prohibiting government entities from deploying mass-surveillance technology and requiring a search warrant before accessing surveillance footage.

Gov. Mike DeWine and Attorney General Andy Wilson have defended the cameras. DeWine said the technology remains effective despite misuse concerns. Wilson called the cameras "absolutely invaluable" for finding missing people and solving crimes.

The pushback extends beyond Hamilton County. Lebanon City Council voted Tuesday, Sept. 8 to remove all 20 of its Flock cameras after the city sent Flock Safety 54 written questions on Aug. 17 and received no response for 21 days, according to Fox 19. Several Northern Kentucky cities, including Florence, Newport, Erlanger and Independence, have also stopped using the cameras.

Flock Safety has shortened its default data retention from 30 days to seven and made misuse detection software mandatory. Lebanon's council is set to revisit its Flock contract later in September.