Secretaries of State play key role in overseeing elections and protecting Democracy

While many of us still tend to think of Election Day as being several months away, the reality is that the voting period in many states is nearly upon us. One month from today, fifteen states will have begun mailing out absentee ballots. In less than one month, voters in Virginia will be able to go to the polls, with Illinois soon to follow. Greater eligibility for absentee ballots and expanded early voting periods have removed barriers to the ballot box for voters all over the country.

When ACS launched our Run.Vote.Work. initiative, it was with the recognition that the legitimacy of our democracy rests in no small part on the integrity of our elections. This starts with ensuring that all eligible voters are able to cast their ballots and that voters actually decide the outcome of our elections. A key component to our Run.Vote.Work. efforts is bringing much needed attention to down ballot races. In the lead up to Election Day 2024, we will be spotlighting several down ballot races that will be on the ballot for many voters this year. We kick off this series with the statewide official who most commonly serves as a state’s chief election official: Secretaries of State.

In 2024, voters in seven states will vote for Secretary of State: Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. In all but North Carolina, the winner of these elections will oversee their state’s elections. While the role varies from state to state, often these officials are responsible for certifying election results, testing voting equipment, providing guidance and support to local election officials, maintaining voter rolls, and ensuring eligible voters are able to cast a ballot that is counted.

The work of Secretaries of State has always been important, but in recent years the role has been thrust into the spotlight.

The emergence and persistence of the Big Lie, the thoroughly disproven assertion that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen,” has led to a surge of election deniers running for statewide offices with critical roles in election administration. The role of Secretary of State is no exception. Currently, seven election deniers serve as Secretary of State, including in Missouri and West Virginia. And this number could have been significantly higher had voters not thoroughly rejected election denialism in Secretary of State races throughout the country in 2022.

Perhaps most notably, Big Lie proponents have politicized the oversight of recount procedures and certification of results. Even a Secretary of State’s less prominent functions, when made subservient to partisanship, can have extraordinarily detrimental impacts. A quick trip down memory lane reveals the power that lies in these offices:

• In 2000, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris denied the request of three counties to extend the certification deadline, in spite of a Florida Supreme Court decision, so that recounts could be completed before the state certified the state’s presidential election results.

• In 2004, Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell attempted to reject thousands of valid voter registration forms because they were submitted on the wrong weight of paper.

• In 2008, Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land attempted to illegally purge voters within 90 days of an election.

• While serving as Nebraska Secretary of State from 2011-2019, now-State Attorney General Kris Kobach advanced numerous efforts to require burdensome citizenship verification for registrants and to investigate potential voter fraud, without any proof of fraud and despite numerous federal court injunctions against his efforts.

• In 2018, now-Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp attempted to put tens of thousands of voter registrations on hold and reject mail-in absentee ballots over purported signature mismatches with no notice or appeal process in place. He did so in his role as Secretary of State while a candidate for the office he now holds.

But it is not always doom and gloom.  In 2020, when election administrators were met with unprecedented circumstances in conducting an election during an ongoing pandemic, Secretaries of State were critical in ensuring voters had opportunities to vote without imperiling their health.  Their efforts help make the 2020 presidential election the most secure in American history with record turnout in spite of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Voters in six states will have an opportunity to make their voices heard at the ballot box this year when it comes to the critical role their Secretaries of State play in protecting voting rights. But voters in all forty-seven states where Secretaries of State play key oversight roles in their states’ elections will have an opportunity to see these important officials at work. They have the opportunity to contact their Secretary’s office to weigh in on important decisions made by the office. And they may even have the opportunity to get involved, by working for these critical offices or even deciding to run the next time the position is on the ballot. There are no off years in protecting our democracy. Whether your state’s Secretary of State is on this year’s ballot or not, it is important to pay attention to this elected role as voters start heading to the polls and sustain that attention past this November.

Democracy and Voting