When I first took on the responsibility of implementing federally mandated election reforms, I knew it would not be easy.

After nearly a year and a half, I am proud of my office's national reputation for thoroughness, professionalism and transparency in every aspect of election reform. The security testing we have conducted on electronic voting devices and the corrections we have demanded from voting machine vendors have become de facto national standards.

In fact, the transparency of our security testing - Ohio was the first state in the nation to publish all findings - has received praise from both electronic voting critics and advocates alike.

In that light, the Enquirer's recent editorial ("Blackwell 'reform' self-centered," March 12) regarding the final portion of Ohio's election reform effort - voter education - was not only surprising, it was disappointingly cynical and amazingly shortsighted.

To state, as the Enquirer did, that voter education is simply a matter of teaching Ohioans the "intricacies of pushing a button next to the name of the candidate of their choice" is silly. Such shortsighted thinking also ignores the current election reform environment.

Partisan players seeking to score political points, opportunistic vendors employing cutthroat tactics and conspiracy theorists aided by overzealous academics have eroded public confidence in the integrity of our voting process. That confidence can be restored only through a comprehensive explanation of what has been done to protect from error and fraud.

That is what I am proposing.

Ohioans deserve a voter education initiative that is well-researched, inclusive and transparent. The effort must involve citizen groups, community leaders and election officials all working together to ensure Ohioans trust the devices that are tabulating their votes and know how to use those devices properly.

Overhauling Ohio's voting technology must be done right the first time, which places a premium on voter education. Under my direction, as the state's chief elections officer, Ohio will deploy the most secure voting devices in the nation. Spending $2 per registered voter to ensure Ohioans trust and understand those devices is money well spent.

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J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio secretary of state