Jay Ashcroft
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, 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. Ashcroft attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy, but did not graduate. He earned his Bachelor of Science and  Master of Science degrees from Missouri University of Science and Technology. He then worked as an engineer. Ashcroft attended law school, earning his Juris Doctor from Saint Louis University. Political career. Ashcroft ran for the Missouri Senate in 2014, losing to Jill Schupp. He ran for Missouri Secretary of State in the 2016 election, defeating state senator Will Kraus in the Republican primary election and former KMOV anchor Robin Smith in the general election. 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. He has asserted that voter fraud is common enough to have "changed elections." There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Missouri or anywhere else in the United States. The type of voter fraud that would be addressed through Ashcroft's preferred legislation, which critics say suppresses turnout, is extremely rare. 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. According to the "Kansas City Star", "there has never been a reported case of voter impersonation fraud in Missouri." In June 2018, Ashcroft said that voter fraud was "an exponentially greater threat than hacking." 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. 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. He said he would give out voters’ names, addresses, birthdates, where they voted and when. 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. 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. 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. 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. Jay