COLUMBUS, Ohio - Add Ohio to the list of states refusing to turn voter data over to President Trump's Presidential Commission on Election Integrity.
Secretary of State Jon Husted responded Friday to a letter from Kris Kobach, the Vice-Chairman of the commission. Husted said that Ohio's voter registration rolls are already public and available online. He refused to release other data about voters like the last four numbers of voter's Social Security numbers and voter driver's license numbers.
“In Ohio, we pride ourselves on being a state where it is easy to vote and hard to cheat. Voter fraud happens, it's rare and when it happens we hold people accountable. I believe that as the Commission does its work, it will find the same about our state," Husted wrote.
“After each of the last three federal elections, I instructed the bipartisan boards of elections to conduct a review of credible allegations of voter fraud and voter suppression. The results of this review is already in the public domain and available to the Commission. Additionally, voter registration information is a public record and is available online. The Confidential information, such as the last four digits of a voter’s Social Security number or their Ohio driver license number is not publicly available and will not be provided to the Commission.”
“In responding to the Commission, we will have ideas on how the federal government can better support states in running elections. However, we will make it clear that we do not want any federal intervention in our state's right and responsibility to conduct elections."
“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. 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.”
Secretaries of State in California, New York, Virginia and Kentucky have also refused to turn over some or all of the data requested by the Commission.