Protecting the Integrity of Our Elections

By Ken Blackwell, CP Op-Ed Contributor Saturday, August 04, 2018

Ken Blackwell is the Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment at the Family Research Council, and the Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow for Public Policy at the Buckeye Institute in Columbus, Ohio

Voting is a fundamental constitutional right. Free and fair elections are vital to our republic. Voting is a right and a civic duty. Our Founding Fathers entrusted "We the People" to have a full voice in leading our country into the exciting future.

Every properly registered voter has the right to an undiluted vote. If someone else votes more than once...if a non-citizen votes...that dilutes your precious vote and undermines the integrity of our elections.

For eight years as Ohio's Secretary of State, I protected our elections. I witnessed it firsthand, over and over again; elections are vulnerable to fraud. I could write a catalog of ways people try to "game the system" or overzealous political operatives try to gain an edge and rig an election. Safeguarding our ballot boxes is the most important thing a Secretary of State can do because the assaults through voter intimidation, voter registration fraud and outright interference are legendary. Trust me. I know. Free and fair elections are not on their priority list.

In my home state of Ohio, we require some form of ID for voters, state ID Drivers License, Utility Bill, etc. Republicans are for it. Democrats are against it. Republicans say that voting is not effortless and presenting a photo ID is a very small price to pay for safeguarding our elections. Democrats make the spurious claim that it is tantamount to voter suppression.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are attacking on a separate front. They see a down ballot race as a golden opportunity. They are making an all-out effort to win Secretary of State races across the country and they have made Ohio their #1 target for a very good reason. Capturing this office is vital to the success of their masterplan of electing a Democrat as America's 46^{th President. No Republican has won the presidency without winning Ohio. Ohio is a critical swing state. Ohio has voted for the winner in presidential races in twenty-eight out of the last thirty elections. As Ohio goes, so goes the nation.}

Since the Secretary of State's office controls the machinery of elections, the National Democrats are making a concerted but "under-the-radar" effort to win the Secretary of State's race. The reality is, they are trying to buy this pivotal office with former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Senator and presidential wannabe Elizabeth Warren leading the charge. They'll have full access to the Clinton Money Machine and the Obama Operation. So while it may seem strange to witness hundreds of thousands of dollars pouring into a down ballot race here in the heartland, there is a method to the Democrat's madness. Delve blow the surface and you will see that the Democrats have their sights set on 2020, defeating Donald Trump, taking back the presidency and wining the Secretary of State's race is a means to that end. In the wrong hands, Ohio's Secretary of State's office will become a de facto arm of the Ohio Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee. Eric Holder and a laundry list of presidential wannabes know that. Realizing what our rivals are capable of, Republicans are on high alert. They mean business. They've got millions. They don't fight fair. It's that serious.

Their candidate for this high office is Kathleen Clyde. She fits the pattern of coming from the Far Left of the political spectrum and being loud and confrontational in her style. She is advancing the preposterous and obviously-unconstitutional notion that if a presidential candidate does not release his/her taxes, they are immediately and irrevocably kept off the ballot in Ohio. You can see how far-fetched and far left her agenda is. In addition to being against the Constitution, she is also against the Supreme Court. When the nation's highest judicial court voted 7-2 in support of our current Secretary of State Jon Husted's efforts to clean up and cull the voter file, in a fever pitch of anger, Clyde denounced the ruling. It was a naked effort to gin up her liberal base and keep attracting the leftist and labor union dollars that are bankrolling her campaign. Ambitious and aggressive, free and fair elections are the last thing on her mind. Power and control are what Kathleen Clyde and the National Democrats care about.

The day Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton for President was the day the Democrats began their 2020 campaign. The usual suspects are purported to be running: Bernie Sanders. Joe Biden. Elizabeth Warren. Senators Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and Jeff Merkley are all considering presidential bids. Whoever the Democrats nominate will target Ohio as the missing piece to the puzzle they need to claim the Oval Office so they can pick up where Barack Obama left off. If they seize control of the Ohio Secretary of State's office and they control the machinery of government in the Buckeye State, they will set to work pressing their advantage. That is why Republicans are taking action because winning the Ohio Secretary of State's race is absolutely vital to the integrity of our elections and the future of our country.

Ken Blackwell, the former Ohio Secretary of State, served on the President Trump's Commission on Election Integrity. He is a member of the Policy Board of the American Civil Rights Union.