Political pressure on election administration has intensified across the country and in Ohio

OpinionOhio’s competitiveness depends on respecting our elections: Richard A. StoffIn this 2022 file photo, a voter drops their ballot in a ballot drop box at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. (Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com)Joshua Gunter, cleveland.comBy Guest Columnist, cleveland.comCompanies invest, expand, and hire where the state government is reliable and the rules are predictable. Institutional stability is a competitive advantage, one often taken for granted. A key underpinning of that stability is accessible, trusted elections. They guarantee that authority transfers on a known schedule, by a known process, by the will of the voters, with results all sides accept in advance. Right now, elections are under pressure.This November, Ohioans will choose a U.S. senator, a governor, members of Congress and the legislature, and hundreds of local officials — along with the Ohio Secretary of State, Attorney General, and two members of the Ohio Supreme Court, whose responsibilities include resolving disputes about elections.Election officials here and across the country have faced threats and intimidation, and political pressure on election administration has intensified.The business consequence is straightforward. A prolonged fight over counting, certification, or a lawful result is not a political story with a business footnote — it is a reputational and economic event. I spent 25 years working with the chief executives of Ohio’s largest companies alongside five governors, Republicans and Democrats. Our purpose was clear: to improve competitiveness and our quality of life for every citizen and solve the state’s most intractable problems. The method never changed: assemble the facts, analyze them independently, then act together.That is why 50 business and civic leaders from across our great state — Republicans, independents, and Democrats — have joined me in signing this statement, organized by the Leadership Now Project. Among them are Chuck Ratner and Dick Pogue here in Cleveland, Jeni Britton and Martyn Redgrave in Columbus, and John Pepper and Tom Williams in Cincinnati. We affirm every eligible citizen’s right to vote and to have that vote counted; impartial and transparent election administration; the resolution of disputes through established legal processes; and respect for lawful outcomes, whomever prevails.And we will act. We will stand with Ohio’s election officials against threats and intimidation. We will correct demonstrably false claims about Ohio’s elections regardless of who makes them. We will defend election officials and judges from improper political interference. And if lawful certification is obstructed, or an outcome is challenged outside established legal processes, we will speak publicly and together.That is a commitment, not a prediction.Nothing in the statement favors a party or a candidate. Our commitment is to the process.Richard Stoff is senior adviser to the Leadership Now Project. He is the founding and former president of the Ohio Business Roundtable, a retired partner of Ernst & Young, and executive workforce board member of former Ohio Govs. John Kasich, Ted Strickland, Bob Taft and George Voinovich.Courtesy of Richard StoffWe are not signing because Ohio’s elections are fragile. The safeguards are built in. Ohio counts its votes through 88 county boards of elections, each led by two Republicans and two Democrats. Ballots are marked on paper. Voting equipment is tested in public before it is used. Procedures are open to scrutiny. Tens of thousands of Ohioans — our neighbors, our employees, our retirees — will serve as election officials and poll workers.We are signing because any attempt to disrupt our state’s institutional stability is a direct economic risk.To my colleagues across Ohio, I encourage you to read the statement and add your name.To the election board directors, staff, and poll workers preparing for November: You have our respect and our support.Richard A. Stoff is senior advisor of the Leadership Now Project and the founding and former President and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable. Prior to leading the Roundtable, he served as a Partner with Ernst & Young’s management consulting practice. The opinions expressed herein are entirely his own, and references to the Ohio Business Roundtable should not be taken as that organization’s endorsement of such opinions.MORE BY GUEST COLUMNIST CLEVELAND.COMHave something to say about this topic? * Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication. * Email general questions, comments or corrections on this opinion column to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com.