Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Endorses Jennifer Brunner for Secretary of State

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Contact: TaKeysha Sheppard Cheney

Executive Director, OLBC

(614) 746-1363 cell

(614) 341-6912 office

staff@olbc1967.org

February 15, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Endorses Jennifer Brunner for Secretary of State

Brunner will Bring Integrity Back to the Office of Secretary of State

Columbus – The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC) has endorsed Jennifer Brunner for Ohio Secretary of State. OLBC is comprised of the eighteen African-American legislators who serve in the Ohio General Assembly. Fourteen serve in the House of Representatives and four serve in the Senate. OLBC members hold minority leadership positions in both the House and Senate.

"Jennifer Brunner’s achievements and qualifications for the Office of Secretary of State speak for themselves. She has served as the Legislative Counsel and Deputy Director of the Office of Secretary of State; as a Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge; and as a respected elections attorney for over 12 years,” said Representative Barbara Sykes (D-Akron) and OLBC President. “Brunner will also bring to the office a clear understanding and passion for a fair and unbiased elections process because it is one of the cornerstones of our democratic system of government.”

Recent elections have highlighted numerous problems, inconsistencies and widespread concerns about the current Secretary of State’s leadership and integrity in overseeing Ohio’s election system. “At a time when we are successfully encouraging more people to vote, especially those within African-American and other disadvantage communities, we need to ensure voters that they will have fair access to the polls and that their votes will be counted.”

African-American voter registration and participation were high in the 2004 election. 70.3% of Ohio's African American population was registered to vote and 65.5% of this population voted in the 2004 election. Unfortunately, some evidence suggests that African-American precincts were more likely to have votes not counted.

“Jennifer Brunner has a long history of working to protect the rights of all voters. As Secretary of State she has pledged to ensure equal distribution of voting machines and to enforce laws against voter intimidation and fraud. She will also work to maintain the integrity of the office by not using the office or the title to campaign for issues or candidates,” said Representative Sykes. “The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus encourages all voters to support Jennifer Brunner for Ohio Secretary of State."

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