Democracy SoS
Contrary to popular belief, there is no single voting system in the United States. Instead, voting policies and procedures are set by each state and in many cases by each voting precinct. As a result, 13,000 independent voting districts administer elections. This has resulted in a patchwork collection of federal, state and local laws that do not protect an equal right to vote for all citizens. It has also created a system that is difficult to reform because electoral oversight is so widely and unevenly distributed.In order to support reforms aimed at achieving fair and uniform elections at the state level, FairVote has created the Democracy SoS Project. This resource includes information on the chief election official(s) in every state as well as the electoral responsibilities of their office and how the office is filled. To learn more, select a state from the menu at the left of this page.
2008 Election Update: Six Secretaries of State (SoS) with election responsibilities will be up for election this November. Those states include Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia.
Meet the Candidates:
In West Virginia, the SoS incumbent, Betty Ireland (Republican), isn’t running for re-election. Charles Minimah (Republican) will run against Natalie Tennant (Democratic) in November's general election. West Virgina's primary election was held on May 13. Mr. Minimah ran unopposed, but Ms. Tennant, who won by 52 percent of the vote, had two challengers, Joe Delong and Billy Wayne Bailey, fighting to be the Democratic nominee.
In Oregon, the SoS incumbent, Bill Bradbury (Democrat), isn’t running for re-election. Kate Brown, Rick Metsger and Vicki Walker are the Democrat challengers and Rick Dancer is the only Republican challenger. Oregon's primary election is May 20.
In Montana, Brad Johnson is the incumbent and the Republican candidate and his Democratic challenger is Linda McCulloch. Montana’s primary election is June 3.
In Missouri Robin Carnahan (Democrat) is running unopposed. The candidate filing date has passed, and Missouri’s primary election is August 19.
In Vermont, as of May 5, Debora Markowitz (Democrat) is running unopposed. The last day for major party candidate to file is July 21, and minor party is August 21. Vermont's primary election is September 9.
In Washington, as of May 5, Sam Reed (Republican), is running unopposed. The last day for a candidate to file is June 6, and Washington's primary election is August 19.
North Carolina and New Hampshire are two states that could replace their chief election officer, but unlike the states above they are appointed.
In North Carolina, the governor appoints an election board. The board is bi-partisan with a 3-2 split favoring the elected governor’s party. North Carolina’s governor is a Mike Easley (Democrat).
In New Hampshire, the state’s legislature appoints the SoS. Currently William Gardner (Democrat) serves as secretary of state. If someone is interested in running, they must contact someone in both the House and Senate after the presidential election. The candidate must get a representative and a senator to nominate them, and the final vote takes place the first day of business in January.
To often the Secretary of State race is overshadowed, but this year FairVote's Democracy SoS project has formed a coalition to shift the spotlight. Our coalition, Democracy SoS, is comprised of local and national organizations from different political ideologies. The coalition's goal is to educate the voter. We will create a survey that informs voters about the candidate's platform, position and priorities, when it comes to election process.
Four Categories Addressed in the Survey:
- Voter Participation
- Election Integrity
- Election Reform
- Election Administration
2006 Election Update: There are 25 states in which the Secretary of State was up for election in November of 2006. We hope that all of these officials will make election reforms a top priority. Use the drop down bar on the left to see all the declared candidates, as well as the incumbent officers for each state. Winners are noted and there are links to the state's pages for available results.