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Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted on the Obama campaign’s lawsuit over the state’s early vote law.
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-- started in Florida now spreading to Ohio.
The swing state is trying to gain access to a Homeland Security database to verify US citizenship citizenship -- John instead I was secretary of state leading the ever joins me now welcome to the show great to have you here.
Talk to us about this to you along with other states requesting this data this information is there any evidence in Ohio.
That debt you need to clean those voter -- Well we have a have a role -- a responsibility.
In federal law.
-- maintain inaccurate voter database.
Knowing that there's information out there that would help us do this essentially what we're doing is asking the federal government to help us comply with the federal law.
Well the Obama campaign.
Says that.
Let me -- -- on to a different topic here for a second.
This topic have restricting early voting.
That the Obama campaign is coming against you for and and bring suit against -- for.
They say that -- -- you're doing something illegal here they can't read it Brad restrict access to voting polls and you say.
I say that in business terms we should consider this a frivolous lawsuit essentially what they're asking for.
Our three additional early voting days that go beyond Ohio law.
In Ohio it's very easy to vote you have 35 days that you can start voting.
Early voting.
Every single person is eligible to vote by mail.
Hi you have over 750.
Hours in which you can cast a ballot not including all day on Election Day.
-- it's very easy to vote and frankly.
What they're trying to do.
Is confuse the issue trying to make it look like hot it is hard to vote but frankly it's very easy to vote no -- out on the.
-- also into this a little deeper here because.
It when you look at Ohio's early absentee voters 33% of them of them are democratic.
So do you think this is politically motivated.
Well I don't I don't believe those statistics.
I think it.
It's hard to validate that claim because it depends on which election and how well your candidates doing it is that an accurate as to what percentage of of the vote is cast early.
It's not politically motivated but we have a responsibility I have a responsibility to uphold the law of the state of Ohio.
I don't know.
On how much easier we can frankly make it when you don't even need to leave your home to vote in the state.
But we also have to have a window to provide for election integrity meaning the last three days before the election we stop the early voting period.
So the boards of elections can synchronize their voter rolls so when they go to the polls with their books on Election Day.
That we're sure that nobody can is eligible to vote twice and -- our elections.
Information is accurate.
-- at the heart of that the president is -- presidential campaigns objections I think is this idea that different classes are treated differently.
By your lot but in reality that's already true right and.
Well of course it is -- under federal law we're required for example to provide.
Early access to ballots for military voters.
And in many states -- provides specific access to senior citizens or other types of voters.
Frankly before the law was passed in Ohio.
We had very unequal access to voters because some counties would vote early some -- -- vote on weekends and others wouldn't -- when he -- when I became secretary of state.
I asked the legislature let's make it the same in all 88 counties in Ohio let's not have -- standards and each count it each county.
We wanna have consistency and uniformity across the system that's fairness even a third grader knows that that's fair you.
Not you can -- to wait and see what happens with this it that's for sure.
But debt interesting debate going on in Al -- -- week.
Start to really dig in on these election laws right before the presidential John used to thanks for coming on tonight appreciate your time.
Thing.
