It’s fairly absurd that Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R) is running for governor while serving in a position that allows him to make decisions as to who can vote in the gubernatorial race. He should have handed over those responsibilities months ago, but instead he issued absurd rules intended to curb voter-registration drives.
But the idea that Blackwell can also help decide whether his opponent, who is beating him badly, stays on the ballot, is truly painful. (thanks to reader G.D. for the tip)
Voters in Ohio can be forgiven if they feel they have been beamed out of the Midwest and dropped into a third-world autocracy. The latest news from the state’s governor’s race is that the Republican nominee, Kenneth Blackwell, who is also the Ohio secretary of state, could rule that his opponent is ineligible to run because of a technicality. We’d like to think that his office would not ultimately do that, or that if it did, such a ruling would not be allowed to stand. But the mere fact that an elected official and political candidate has the authority to toss his opponent out of a race is further evidence of a serious flaw in our democracy.
Indeed, it is. In this case, Rep. Ted Strickland (D) has two homes in Ohio, an apartment where he’s registered to vote, and a condominium elsewhere in the same state. Blackwell’s supporters argue that Strickland actually lives in the condo, which suggests he doesn’t reside at the home where he’s registered, which suggests he’s not a qualified voter, which suggests he’s prohibited from running for governor.
It’s hardly the kind of complaint to be taken seriously. As the NYT noted today, state election law “gives voters with multiple homes broad discretion in choosing among them.” This is little more than a silly right-wing stunt intended to interrupt a campaign in which the very far-right candidate is poised to lose in a landslide.
But instead of dismissing this nonsense out of hand, Ohio Republicans are taking the complaint seriously.
The county board that heard it broke down 2 to 2, on party lines, about whether to hold a hearing. In the case of a tie vote at the county level, complaints like these get forwarded to the secretary of state’s office to be resolved. Mr. Blackwell says he has designated his assistant secretary to handle duties that could conflict with his candidacy. But passing these matters on to a subordinate who is a political ally and owes his job to the candidate hardly removes the conflict.
Election administration should be removed from partisan politics, in Ohio and everywhere else. Decisions like these should be made by nonpartisan bodies or, failing that, by people who do their utmost to insulate themselves from partisan politics. In 2004, Mr. Blackwell chose to become co-chairman of President Bush’s Ohio campaign, and then issued rulings that helped the campaign. Now we have the even more bizarre prospect of Mr. Blackwell, or his deputy, potentially participating in the baseless disqualification of his opponent.
We are confident it will not come to that. But however this particular case is resolved, it underscores the need for Ohio, and other states, to find a way to administer elections that is insulated from partisan politics.
If Dems take back Congress, can we please put election reform right up there near the top of the domestic policy agenda?