Jay Ashcroft

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Jay Ashcroft
Jay Ashcroft.jpg
40th Secretary of State of Missouri
Assumed office
January 9, 2017
GovernorEric Greitens
Mike Parson
Preceded byJason Kander
Personal details
Born
John Robert Ashcroft

(1973-07-12) July 12, 1973 (age 48)
Jefferson City, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Parent(s)
EducationMissouri University of Science and Technology (BS, MS)
Saint Louis University (JD)

John Robert "Jay" Ashcroft (born July 12, 1973) is an American attorney, engineer, and politician serving as the 40th Secretary of State of Missouri.

As Secretary of State, Ashcroft pushed for stricter voter identification laws, making several unsubstantiated claims about the extent of voter fraud,[1][2][3][4] supported an investigation into Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, and supported Republican efforts to block Medicaid expansion after voters decided in favor of it.

Early life[]

Ashcroft is the son of politician John Ashcroft.[5]

Ashcroft attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy, but did not graduate.[6] He earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from Missouri University of Science and Technology. He then worked as an engineer.[7] Ashcroft attended law school, earning his Juris Doctor from Saint Louis University.[8]

Political career[]

Ashcroft ran for the Missouri Senate in 2014,[9] losing to Jill Schupp.[5] He ran for Missouri Secretary of State in the 2016 election, defeating state senator Will Kraus in the Republican primary election[10] and former KMOV anchor Robin Smith in the general election.[11] In 2020, Ashcroft won re-election against Democrat Yinka Faleti.

Voter ID laws[]

Ashcroft is a staunch supporter of stricter voter ID laws. Ashcroft's claims about voter fraud, as well as the need for photo ID laws to combat voter fraud, were a central aspect of his 2016 campaign for the office of Missouri Secretary of State.[12] He has asserted that voter fraud is common enough to have "changed elections."[1][4][13] There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Missouri or anywhere else in the United States.[2] The type of voter fraud that would be addressed through Ashcroft's preferred legislation, which critics say suppresses turnout, is extremely rare.[3][2] In defending a push for stricter photo-ID laws, Ashcroft cited one instance where a couple illegally voted, but omitted that the photo-ID laws that Ashcroft was advocating for would not have prevented the couple from voting.[2] According to the Kansas City Star, "there has never been a reported case of voter impersonation fraud in Missouri."[12] In June 2018, Ashcroft said that voter fraud was "an exponentially greater threat than hacking."[12]

On July 3, 2017, Ashcroft said that he would comply with a request by the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, a commission appointed by Trump to investigate supposed voter fraud, to a request for Missourians voting data.[14] At the time, Missouri became one of only three states to comply with the commission; officials of both parties in many states declined to turn over data to the commission, variously citing voter privacy and stating that the commission would legitimize Trump's false claims of massive voter fraud.[14][15] He said he would give out voters’ names, addresses, birthdates, where they voted and when.[16]

Investigation of Josh Hawley[]

In December 2018, Ashcroft, who as Secretary of State does not have the power to issue subpoenas, asked Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway, who can issue subpoenas, to cooperate in an investigation into then-Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley for using public resources in his successful 2018 campaign for the U.S. Senate.[17] In February 2019, Ashcroft ended his investigation into Hawley, declaring that there was no evidence that Hawley or the AG's office had violated election law.[18]

Ballot initiatives[]

Ashcroft has backed a number of Republican proposals to reduce the number of Missouri ballot initiative petitions and make it harder for ballot initiatives to win approval in elections.[19]

Opposition to Medicaid expansion[]

After Missouri voters voted in favor of Medicaid expansion, Ashcroft applauded efforts by Republicans in the Missouri legislature to block funding for Medicaid expansion.[20]

Electoral history[]

State Senate[]

2014 Missouri Senate election, 24th district[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Jill Schupp 28,022 50.09% +0.19
Republican John R. "Jay" Ashcroft 26,196 46.82% -3.28
Libertarian Jim Higgins 1,727 3.09% +3.09

Secretary of State[]

2016 Missouri Secretary of State Republican primary[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John R. "Jay" Aschroft 401,361 61.33%
Republican Will Kraus 226,473 34.60%
Republican Roi Chinn 26,638 4.07%
2016 Missouri Secretary of State election[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John R. "Jay" Ashcroft 1,591,086 57.62% +10.21
Democratic Robin Smith 1,061,788 38.45% -10.43
Libertarian Chris Morrill 108,568 3.93% +1.26
2020 Missouri Secretary of State election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John R. "Jay" Ashcroft (incumbent) 1,790,873 60.59% +2.97%
Democratic Yinka Faleti 1,072,415 36.28% -2.17%
Libertarian Carl Herman Freese 55,320 1.87% -2.06%
Green Paul Lehmann 23,981 0.81% N/A
Constitution Paul Venable 13,066 0.44% N/A

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Judge dismisses suit over Missouri's voter ID law". The Seattle Times. January 3, 2018. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "States push new voter requirements, fueled by Trump". NBC News. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  3. ^ a b McDermott, Kevin. "Ashcroft defends Missouri's cooperation with Trump voter-fraud probe, as other states decline". stltoday.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Could foreign hackers mess with Missouri elections? Jay Ashcroft doesn't think so". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Mannies, Jo (February 19, 2015). "Ashcroft jumps into open contest for Missouri secretary of state". KWMU. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  6. ^ Woehlk, Geoffrey (July 19, 2016). "Kraus, Ashcroft continue throwing shade ahead of primary". Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  7. ^ Bruce, Betsy (August 26, 2016). "Smith, Ashcroft discuss Missouri Secretary of State election". FOX2now.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  8. ^ Griffin, Marshall (October 21, 2016). "Missouri's next secretary of state will be a first-time officeholder". Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  9. ^ "Familiar Name Returns To Missouri Ballot". Archived from the original on November 11, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  10. ^ Phillips, Jeff. "Jay Ashcroft, son of ex-governor, wins Republican secretary of state primary". Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  11. ^ "Jay Ashcroft wins Secretary of State race". November 9, 2016. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  12. ^ a b c "Voter fraud much greater threat than election hacking, Missouri's Jay Ashcroft says". kansascity. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  13. ^ McDermott, Kevin. "Ashcroft defends Missouri's cooperation with Trump voter-fraud probe, as other states decline". stltoday.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  14. ^ a b Cali, Michael (July 3, 2017). "Ashcroft to release Missourians' voting data to Trump commission". Columbia Missourian.
  15. ^ Liz Stark; Grace Hauck. "44 states won't give some voter info to panel". CNN. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  16. ^ Mannies, Jo. "Missouri Secretary of State responds to criticism over support for Trump voter-fraud panel". Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  17. ^ Jason Hancock, Steve Vockrodt, and Lindsay Wise. "Missouri Secretary of State enlists auditor's subpoena power to investigate Hawley". Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2019.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  18. ^ Jason Hancock (February 28, 2019). "Ashcroft ends investigation of Josh Hawley, says he didn't violate election law". Kansas City Star.
  19. ^ Hancock, Jason. "On the GOP's agenda: making it harder for Missouri voters to put issues on the ballot". Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  20. ^ Jeanne Kuang (March 26, 2021). "Missouri Republicans block funds for voter-approved Medicaid expansion". Kansas City Star.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  21. ^ a b c "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved April 21, 2020.

External links[]

Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State of Missouri
2017–present 		Incumbent
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