EXCLUSIVE: U.S. veteran runs for Ohio Secretary of State job to ensure voting integrity

U.S. Air Force veteran and Ohio Secretary of State candidate Marcell Strbich told Ohio.News that he wants to prevent voter fraud in the Buckeye State, so that there would be no more “2020s.”

Strbich said he’s always been apolitical, but he began researching after witnessing alleged voter fraud during the 2020 election. According to him, it is very important to address the issue right away, or the country would collapse, citing his parents, who escaped a communist country.

“If you don’t secure or address the issues in the election systems, like what happened,” he said, “then we’re going to have more 2020s, and I cannot pass that type of situation on to my children if I have the ability to do something about it myself.”

Strbich said that since the Board of Elections “is responsible for all 88 counties for making sure that people are objectively and correctly verified, but they don’t have the data, the tools and the mandate from the legislature or the Secretary of State to do that work,” Ohio faces many voter fraud problems, such as non-citizens voting.

“We need to strengthen eligibility verification. Right off the bat, we need to give the Board of Elections both access to the verification tools and the data. Fortunately, we have a presidential administration that wants to do that,” he said.

According to Strbich, “that’s going to require some level of training, some level of information systems access,” and some time to adapt because it will be a “culture change.”

“That’s probably going to be one of the biggest challenges because I think there’s a strong resistance to looking and doing things differently,” he said.

Strbich also said that Ohio needs to strengthen the “voter ID deficit issue” because presenting proof of a person being an American citizen and resident of Ohio would prevent voter fraud.

The candidate also criticized voting systems, ballot-marking devices, and touchscreens as highly unreliable.

“I would go to pre-printed, hand-markable paper ballots. That’s the pen and paper. The pen and paper can be watermarked,” he said, adding that they also cost “a lot less” than these voting machines.

Strbich said he believes these things can be accomplished, but noted that it usually doesn’t because there is a “deficit of will and conviction,” and because people who go into politics generally avoid conflicts to climb the career ladder.

“They avoid friction, especially among their peers and their colleagues,” he said.

Strbich said that he is not interested in pursuing any other political role in the future, if he wins the Ohio Secretary of State race.

“I would like to be a Secretary of State, whether that be four years or at most, eight years, and that’s it,” he said. “And then I want to go back to raising my family and getting civically involved in other facets of my post-military life.”

Next Steps

Strbich will face Robert Sprague during the May 5, 2026, Republican primary. Strbich criticized Sprague by suggesting that the reason why he’s been in politics for so long is that he doesn’t want to “ruffle any feathers,” adding that if he gets elected, Strbich “would not be going to Columbus to make friends.”

The winner will face the winner of the Democratic primary in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. Two candidates — Bryan Hambley and Allison Russo — are vying for the Democratic nomination.

Strbich also said Russo is too radical even for the center-left Americans, which would be a good opportunity for him to convince them to vote for him.