Ohio’s secretary of state on Monday said Donald Trump’s warning of a “rigged” election is “irresponsible,” saying voter fraud does occur but is not part of a widespread systemic problem.
“It’s irresponsible. He should focus on issues that matter to people,” Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted said on CNN.
Mr. Husted, a Republican whose office oversees the state’s elections process, said he intends to vote for Mr. Trump.
“The idea of widespread voter fraud would require some systemic problem in our system, and so if there’s a systemic problem, please identify it,” he said.
Mr. Trump on Monday said people like Mr. Husted need to wake up, asserting that there is “large scale” voter fraud.
“Of course there is large scale voter fraud happening on and before election day. Why do Republican leaders deny what is going on? So naive!” Mr. Trump tweeted Monday.
Mr. Husted said if there are specific examples, people should let him know.
“Don’t just make an allegation on Twitter - tell me. Tell the secretaries of state around the country what the problem is so that we can fix it, but right now, we’re not aware of any systemic problems in our voting system,” he said.
“Are there cases of voter fraud? Absolutely, there are cases of voter fraud,” he said. “But it’s rare and we catch these people. Most times, we catch them before their vote is even counted and we hold them accountable, and we’re building a better system every single day.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.