Ohio Secretary Of State Won't Turn Over Confidential Info To Federal Commission

COLUMBUS, OH — Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted has joined a chorus of secretaries of state refusing a request from a federal commission for confidential voter information. Husted said he is excited to work with the commission, but will not turn over voter details like social security numbers.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the vice-chairman of the Presidential Advisory Commission on ElectionIntegrity, sent a letter Wednesday to state election officials asking for answers to seven questions. Kobach asks for all publicly available voter roll date. He then adds on requests for addresses, email addresses, birthdates, and the last four digits of people's social security numbers.

More than a dozen states have refused the request, saying they will share only publicly-available information, and not the added-on details including voters' emails and social security numbers. Husted said he will work with the commission, but added on Twitter that he has no intention of sharing confidential voter info.

"Every Secretary of State in the country should welcome the opportunity to describe what they do to ensure the integrity of the elections in their respective states," Husted said in his statement. "The Commission and elections community should treat this as an opportunity to build confidence in our election system. I intend to handle it constructively and responsibly. We are proud of what we've built in Ohio.”

President Donald Trump has said frequently that he believes there was widespread voter fraud that took place in the 2016 election. In fact, he has claimed that between 3 and 5 million illegal votes were cast for his opponent, Hillary Clinton, in 2016.

Husted said he will respond to the commission's request with ideas on how the federal government can better support states.

"In responding to the Commission, we will have ideas on how the federal government can better support states in running elections," he said. "However, we will make it clear that we do not want any federal intervention in our state's right and responsibility to conduct elections."

Husted's response is far more measured than many of his peers. Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill lambasted the commission's leader and criticized the group's lack of transparency.

"Given Secretary Kobach's history we find it very difficult to have confidence in the work of this Commission," she said.

Merrill was likely referring to the fact a federal judge recently fined Kobach $1,000 for "deceptive conduct and lack of candor" in answering questions about a document he was photographed taking into a meeting with then-President-elect Trump.

More information on the secretaries of state refusing Kobach's request can be found here.

Husted is currently one of several political figures in Ohio that are campaigning to replace the term-limited Governor John Kasich. In a campaign video, Husted aligned himself with a few of the common tropes of the 2016 presidential campaign.

"As Barack Obama said, 'Folks here cling to our religion and our guns," he said in the video. "And there's no doubt my family would firmly fit in Hilary Clinton's basket of deplorables. And we're proud of it."

Watch Husted's campaign video below.

Photo from YouTube Screenshot