CLEVELAND — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, in coordination with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, announced this week its comprehensive strategy to oversee federal voting protections and address potential election-related violations in Tuesday's election.
“My office has partnered with federal, state, and local law enforcement to maintain election security, enforce federal laws, and address credible threats swiftly,” said U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer. “If you witness—or have direct knowledge of—suspected election fraud, voter intimidation, or unlawful voting activity, we strongly encourage you to report it immediately.”
The announcement comes as the White House announced a lawsuit to block certification of Alaska's Senate results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses. That's because a second candidate named Dan Sullivan is on the ballot.
The president was asked earlier this week if he'll respect the results whatever happens, and he responded: "I will if they're honest elections."
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was asked if he'll commit to a peaceful transition if Democrats win the House next week.
"It's a little silly you have to ask the question, of course we will have a peaceful transfer of power but it will not be transferring because we are going to be keeping the majority," he said.
A Constitutional law attorney, Johnson added, "We're going to follow the Constitution. The Constitution says when a state certifies the election of Members of Congress, they are administered the oath; that's what I'll be doing on January 3rd to everybody who is there. I may not like some of those outcomes, but that's our system."
The race for U.S. Senate in Ohio is one that features two men who once held the position of Secretary of State overseeing Ohio's elections. News 5 asked both if they would respect the outcome of Tuesday's vote.
"Well I'm going to win," said incumbent Republican Jon Husted. "And I built the election system in Ohio where we made it easy to vote and hard to cheat. We have the best election system in the country."
Husted added, "Other states, though, do cheat in the sense that they have systems that don't work, and I tried to fix that with Save America and other things."
Democratic challenger Sherrod Brown made it clear, telling News 5, "If I lose, I accept the results; if I win, I would hope that Senator Husted wouldn't follow the president but would do what he knows.
"Husted and I were both secretaries of state, he knows and I know that everything in Ohio in the election system is bi-partisan. Two poll workers Republican, two poll workers Democrats. Same number of Democrats at the Board of Elections as Republicans. He knows that and we've never had a question about our elections," said Brown.
"I don't know in the last five decades if anybody has ever raised a concern that elections in this state are not safe."
Yes, while the TV ads and mailings highlight the areas of disagreement, and there are many, on this, these candidates agree.
"I can tell you this, Ohio has a great system," said Husted. "I helped build the system and I trust the system."
The Justice Department said complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws may also be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington at civilrights.justice.gov or by phone at 1-855-856-1247.
