Jason Kander

I signed up for military service in the months following 9/11, and later, as a military intelligence officer, I felt called, like so many others, to volunteer for deployment and service in Afghanistan.

Voter suppression is at the very core of the Trump re-election strategy.

The president is in charge of the military so that a single individual - accountable to Americans - is responsible for its successes and failures.

Because President Obama had an overall strategy, military and civilian leaders under his command could make reactive decisions that advanced the president's goals. In the military, we call that commander's intent: When there's a decision to be made and you don't have exact guidance at that moment, you at least know overall what your boss wants.

To me, leadership has always been about doing what's right. Because when you've had to write your blood type on your boots, you aren't afraid to make the right calls.

The option to recall elected officials is an important one. Our representatives should always be mindful that they answer to their constituents, and if they act in malfeasance, their job may be on the line. But using the recall as a way to reverse the results of an election, or to hold a snap election, is simply undemocratic.

As the state's chief elections officer, it is my job to make sure that only eligible voters vote, but also that every eligible voter has the opportunity to vote.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has been an adviser to Trump, although he still very publicly couldn't land a job in the president's Cabinet, despite providing that counsel. And Kobach has a long history of making up facts to help him pass unfair voter suppression laws and push extreme anti-immigrant proposals.

If I had the opportunity to give President Trump any advice, and I had to boil it down to one thing, I suppose it would be that nobody ever got better at any job by blaming everybody else whenever anything goes wrong.

Since winning the election, Donald Trump has jump-started voter suppression efforts at the federal and state levels.

To truly care about this country is to demonstrate that you care about her politics the same when you're winning as when you're losing.

This country is a place that you've got to stay invested in.