Topic: Jennifer Brunner

Jennifer Lee Brunner (born February 5, 1957) is an American politician of the Democratic Party who currently serves as the Ohio Secretary of State. Brunner is the first woman to serve in this capacity. She took office after sixteen years of Republican control, which included two four-year terms by her predecessor J. Kenneth Blackwell who oversaw the 2000 and 2004 United States elections. Brunner has worked in the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office and served as a County Judge in Ohio. She also had a private practice that focused on election laws. During her private practice career, she focused on election law and campaign finance law where she represented a broad range of candidates, businesses, political parties and committees before the Ohio Elections Commission on quasi-criminal matters.

As Secretary of State, she has been actively involved in evaluating and adjusting statewide election systems. Her efforts have focused on correcting the procedural election difficulties that Ohio has become known for. She has evaluated voting mechanisms and instituted policy changes. She has argued policy regarding same day voting, privacy of social security information, and foreclosure-related voter eligibility.

In 2008, she earned a Profiles in Courage Award for her reform of the voting systems. During the 2008 United States elections, Brunner was involved in several court cases in the Ohio State Supreme Court and United States Supreme Court regarding voter registration, provisional ballots and absentee ballots.