The transition to our 46th President’s incoming administration is finally underway with resources and national security information flowing to Joe Biden’s team as federal law provides. While this comes as a relief to the nearly 80 million American voters who supported Biden’s candidacy, it should not be forgotten that our Ohio Attorney General, Dave Yost, did his part in trying to derail this crucial process.
Never mind that nearly 40 legal challenges in six battleground states have now been dismissed by state courts, appeals courts, and/or state supreme courts. Or that former Governor Chris Christie, a staunch Trump supporter, has called the sitting president’s attempts to undermine our election results “an embarrassment.”
It remains important to note that, as our attorney general, Dave Yost is supposed to represent the interests of the people of Ohio, not Donald Trump and his failed campaign. But that’s what Yost did by filing an amicus brief supporting a case brought by Pennsylvania’s Republican Party against a duly elected Secretary of State. The suit argued in favor of throwing out ballots cast by Pennsylvania voters, simply because the Trump campaign was desperate to create doubt around the election outcome.
It’s true that most Republicans in D.C. chose to “humor” Mr. Trump by nodding along with his preposterous schemes, feeding baseless conspiracy theories to weaken Biden’s mandate. It’s far worse, however, when Ohio’s top law enforcement official uses the power of his office to push a narrative that seeks to overturn the will of the voters.
Keep in mind, only a relatively small number of ballots were contested in this suit—not enough to change the results in Pennsylvania. But that didn’t stop Dave Yost from wasting Ohio taxpayer resources on a shameful exercise.
Two years from now, it will be time for Dave Yost to come before the voters and explain why he decided to side with Donald Trump instead of democracy. I won’t forget. Will you?
Anesa Miller
Bowling Green
