COLUMBUS – Ohio’s elections chief says he has complied with an information request from a presidential commission on voter fraud with a series of web links to publicly available data.
Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted tells The Associated Press he withheld voters’ driver’s license and partial Social Security numbers from President Donald Trump’s Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, as planned.
“When the Commission’s work is completed, I believe that they will conclude as I have that voter fraud exists, it is rare and we should take reasonable measures to prevent it and hold violators accountable.” -Ohio Secy of State Jon Husted
In a letter to the commission Monday, Husted included links to the state’s online voter database and reports of voter fraud investigations conducted after the 2012, 2014 and 2016 elections. The reviews identified a combined 820 irregularities in years when a combined 14.4 million general-election votes were cast.
Ohio has seen 112 elections decided by one vote or ending in ties over the last four years,” Husted wrote.
“While none of these elections were impacted by the cases of voter fraud we have uncovered, it serves as an example why we as election officials must remain diligent in our efforts to preserve the integrity of our elections,” he said.
In the letter, Husted says he is hopeful that the information provided will be used to help educate others about how elections are conducted in each state.
Husted said he told Vice President Mike Pence the letter was forthcoming when they saw each other at Sunday’s state Republican dinner.