Jay Ashcroft
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
Jefferson City, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Parent
EducationMissouri University of Science and Technology (BS, MS)
Saint Louis University School of Law (JD)

John Robert "Jay" Ashcroft (born July 12, 1973) is an American attorney, engineer and politician serving as the 40th and current Secretary of State of Missouri since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he is the son of former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

As Missouri Secretary of State, Ashcroft pushed for stricter voter identification laws, fought against ballot initiatives, supported an investigation into former Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, and restricted library services for minors.

Ashcroft is a candidate in the 2024 Missouri gubernatorial election.

Early life

Ashcroft is the son of politician John Ashcroft.[1]

Ashcroft attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy, but did not graduate.[2] He earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in engineering management from Missouri University of Science and Technology. He then worked as an engineer.[3] Ashcroft attended law school, earning his Juris Doctor[4] from Saint Louis University School of Law. After law school, he worked for a law firm's intellectual property division. He later worked for his father in the Ashcroft Law Firm, where he assisted businesses impacted by government regulations and counseled clients on patent prosecution, regulatory compliance, and election law.[5]

Political career

Ashcroft ran for the Missouri Senate in 2014,[6] losing to Democrat Jill Schupp.[1] He ran for Missouri Secretary of State in the 2016 election, defeating state senator Will Kraus in the Republican primary election[7] and former KMOV anchor Robin Smith in the general election.[8] In 2020, Ashcroft won re-election against Democrat Yinka Faleti.

Abortion

Ashcroft opposes abortion. As Secretary of State, Ashcroft wrote "problematic" ballot summaries for initiatives seeking to reverse the Missouri ban on abortions. Judge Beetum rewrote summaries for all six initiatives, noting that Ashcroft's summaries are argumentative, do not fairly represent the purposes or effect, and lack reference to any other reproductive care mentioned in the initiatives.[9] Ashcroft appealed the case to Supreme Court of Missouri, however it was denied less than a week later.[10]

Elections

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.[11] He has asserted that voter fraud is common enough to have "changed elections."[12][13][14] Election fraud did change the outcome in a Kansas City election when an aunt and uncle voted illegally for a state representative who won by one vote.[15] The type of voter fraud that would be addressed through Ashcroft's preferred legislation, which critics say suppresses turnout,[16] is extremely rare.[17][18] 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.[18] According to the Kansas City Star, "there has never been a reported case of voter impersonation fraud in Missouri."[11] In June 2018, Ashcroft said that voter fraud was "an exponentially greater threat than hacking."[11]

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.[19] At the time, Missouri was one of only three states to comply with the commission - which was required by Missouri law.[20] 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 claims of massive voter fraud.[19][21] He said he would give out voters' names, addresses, birthdates, where they voted and when, also required by Missouri law.[20][22]

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.[23]

In March 2023, Ashcroft announced that he is withdrawing Missouri from Electronic Registration Information Center, a bipartisan system to update and improve the accuracy of voter rolls.[24]

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.[25] 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.[26]

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.[27]

Library censorship

As Secretary of State in 2022, Ashcroft proposed restrictions on materials available to minors in public libraries. The proposal details procedures and processes each library would be required to implement in order to continue receiving state funding. More than 10,000 comments were submitted in the 30-day public comment period, and library industry leaders and associations voiced their opposition.[28] In response to backlash, Ashcroft described the proposed rules as a move toward "local control" and said "I'm not the one making a big deal about this. It's the libraries."[29]

The implementation of Ashcroft's rule has been described as "mass confusion" for libraries as they attempt to comply with restrictions that could be interpreted broadly.[30]

Investments rules

In 2023, following the failure of a bill related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment practices in Missouri Congress, Ashcroft utilized the powers of his office to set a rule requiring disclosure forms for utilization of ESG scores. The rule has been criticized as "anti-free market" by the Sierra Club, and the Chamber of Commerce described it as "vague" and "burdensome." The Missouri Secretary of State office's oversight over securities rules is unusual relative to other Secretary of State offices.[31]

Ashcroft's office hired campaign donors as independent counsel in a lawsuit challenging the rules.[32]

Electoral history

State Senate

2014 Missouri Senate election, 24th district[33]
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[33]
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[33]
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. 1 2 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.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ "Biography of the Missouri Secretary of State". Office of the Secretary of State of Missouri. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  6. ↑ Rosenbaum, Jason (August 7, 2014). "Familiar Name Returns To Missouri Ballot". NPR. Archived from the original on November 11, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ "Jay Ashcroft wins Secretary of State race". November 9, 2016. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Judge rewrites abortion ballot summary, calls Ashcroft's version 'problematic'". FOX 2. September 26, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  10. ↑ Spoerre, Anna (November 20, 2023). "Missouri Supreme Court won't hear Jay Ashcroft's appeal of abortion ballot summaries". Missouri Independent. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 "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.
  12. ↑ "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.
  13. ↑ "Could foreign hackers mess with Missouri elections? Jay Ashcroft doesn't think so". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. ↑ "What Royster's Case Tells Us About Voter Fraud In Kansas City". KCUR 89.3 - NPR in Kansas City. August 20, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  16. ↑ Washington, District of Columbia 1800 I. Street NW; Dc 20006. "PolitiFact - States with voter ID laws have seen 'zero decrease' in turnout, NC Republican says". @politifact. Retrieved May 27, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ 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.
  18. 1 2 "States push new voter requirements, fueled by Trump". NBC News. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  19. 1 2 Cali, Michael (July 3, 2017). "Ashcroft to release Missourians' voting data to Trump commission". Columbia Missourian.
  20. 1 2 [https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=115.157&bid=35764&hl=Voter%u2044Record
  21. ↑ 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.
  22. ↑ 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.
  23. ↑ 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.
  24. ↑ Hancock, Jason (March 6, 2023). "Jay Ashcroft withdraws Missouri from group designed to help combat voter fraud". Missouri Independent. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  25. ↑ Jason Hancock; Steve Vockrodt; 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.
  26. ↑ Jason Hancock (February 28, 2019). "Ashcroft ends investigation of Josh Hawley, says he didn't violate election law". Kansas City Star.
  27. ↑ Jeanne Kuang (March 26, 2021). "Missouri Republicans block funds for voter-approved Medicaid expansion". Kansas City Star.
  28. ↑ Ritter, Sarah (December 16, 2022). "Missouri gets 10,000 public comments on new library rule labeled 'political censorship'". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  29. ↑ Kraske, Steve; David, Raginald; Perez, Zach (December 14, 2022). "Missouri Secretary of State defends controversial library rule as critics warn of 'slippery slope'". KCUR 89.3 - NPR in Kansas City. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  30. ↑ Bayless, Kacen (May 31, 2023). "'Mass confusion.' Rule threatening MO library funding over 'obscene' books takes effect". Kansas City Star.
  31. ↑ Cunningham, Meg (August 3, 2023). "Missouri's secretary of state reins in environmentally minded investing". The Beacon. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  32. ↑ Erickson, Kurt (September 9, 2023). "Ashcroft hires campaign donor to defend lawsuit over investment rules". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  33. 1 2 3 "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
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