Archive for the ‘Secretaries of State’ Category

From Secretary of State Jon Husted’s office:

COLUMBUS – In a continued effort to maintain an accurate voter database statewide, thus reducing potential voter fraud, Secretary of State Jon Husted today provided county boards of elections a report comparing records of deceased Ohioans maintained by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) with the records of active voters.  In total, the report found 18,460 matches, all of which he is asking county boards of elections to further investigate for removal.

“The integrity of voter data is critical from a cost, quality and confidence standpoint,” Husted said. “We must take advantage of all information available to us, and be vigilant throughout the year, not just during election season.”

The report released today provides county boards of elections with information on in-state and out-of-state deaths matched by full name and date of birth to the information contained in the statewide voter database. Boards have been directed by the Secretary of State’s office to examine each voter record indentified for their county to determine whether the record should be removed because the voter is deceased. The county boards of elections must complete their review process by June 3, 2011and then quarterly thereafter.

Secretary Husted is seeking to develop a more centralized database as part of his “Ready 2010 & Beyond” elections reform proposal. The reform will make it easier for the Secretary of State’s office to cross-check voter information files against data maintained by state agencies such as the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the Social Security Administration, the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Corrections.

An enhanced statewide voter database, in addition to allowing for online voter registration and change of address, which is also part of Secretary Husted’s elections reform priorities, will cut back on data-entry, improve accuracy and access in the voting process.

To view the report provided to county boards of elections, please visit the link below: http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/upload/news/20110412.pdf

Republican Trey Grayson will leave office January 31st. he’s heading to Harvard University to head up the Institute of Politics.

From the Lexington Herald-Leader:

Gov. Steve Beshear will appoint Bowling Green Mayor Elaine Walker to replace Secretary of State Trey Grayson, who said Friday he will be leaving his state post to become director of Harvard University’s Institute of Politics, effective Jan. 31.

Grayson, who lost a bid last year for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, said in a statement that he will resign his position as secretary of state shortly before Jan. 31.

Beshear appointed Walker to serve the remaining 11 months of Grayson’s term at a 2:30 p.m. news conference in the Capitol.

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From the Iowa Republican:

With his daughter, Kendra, in his arms, Matt Schultz was sworn in as Iowa’s 31st Secretary of State yesterday. Schultz is the first Republican to hold the office since Paul Pate. Pate was Iowa’s Secretary of State from 1995 to 1999.

Schultz’s victory in November continues an incremental approach by Republicans to win control of the state’s five constitutional offices. Schultz’s victory continues the Republican streak that began with Dave Vaudt being elected State Auditor in 2002, followed by Bill Northey being elected Secretary of Agriculture in 2006.

Schultz did something that neither Vaudt nor Northey had to do to win their seats – beat an incumbent. While most will point to the favorable political environment as the reason why Schultz was able to win, the real reason for his victory is the same thing that helped Vaudt and Northey win their first campaigns – a focus on specific issues.

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From Stateline.org:

As Kris Kobach and Scott Gessler prepare to take office as secretary of state for Kansas and Colorado, respectively, their elections are putting to rest any lingering notions that the job of secretary of state is a quiet, low-key, technocratic position.
Kobach is credited with being the intellectual architect of Arizona’s S.B. 1070, the tough-on-illegal-immigrants legislation signed into law in that state last year. The measure sparked impassioned debate nationwide on both sides of the ideological divide. It is now on hold pending resolution of a battle in the courts.

Kobach, who handily defeated incumbent Democrat Chris Biggs, campaigned for Kansas secretary of state on an aggressive agenda of halting voter fraud. “Organizations that promote voter fraud have burrowed into every corner of our country,” Kobach’s campaign website said. “In Kansas, the illegal registration of alien voters has become pervasive.”

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From theintelligencer.net

Former West Virginia Secretary of State Betty Ireland believes state residents should get the right to elect a governor in 2011 – and she intends to be among the candidates when a special election for governor is set.

Ireland – a Republican who served as the state’s chief election officer from 2005 to 2009 – expects the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to rule sometime in January on filings requesting a special election for governor this year in the state.

“I don’t know how the court is going to rule, but this is what I think should happen,” Ireland said. “People need to have a say when as to when we should have an election, and I think people would like to have a chance to vote for governor sooner rather than later.”

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From mlive.com:

Michigan’s outgoing Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land will return to her Kent County roots next year by joining the board that governs policy at Gerald R. Ford International Airport.

Kent County Commissioners are expected to officially appoint Land to the board in January. She will serve as the citizen replacement for outgoing 76-year-old Chairman John Van Laar, who has held the spot for 15 years and been on the board for 35.

Land said she was attracted to the position because of her interest in improving customer service at airports, like she has as Secretary of State branches. She also said the security issues at airports fit well with her background and experience in creating enhanced drivers license and personal identification cards that let people re-enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and 17 Caribbean nations in compliance with stricter government regulations for land and sea border crossing

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Charles Summers Jr, who has served two terms as a state senator, was elected as Maine’s Secretary of State yesterday.

From StarCourier.com:

In Wednesday’s legislative election, held at the beginning of the new term, Summers, 50, defeated six-term incumbent Mark Dunlap, the Democratic nominee, for a two-year term.

“We except Charlie to go even farther,” said proud father Charles Summers of Kewanee, after he and wife Pat watched the vote live from their home on the Maine legislature’s Internet video link. “It was quite an accomplishment in a state that has been heavily Democratic in the past.”

Summers, who grew up in the family business — parents Charles and Pat owned and operated the Hotel Kewanee — managed motels and several other small businesses in Maine before entering politics. He also served as New England administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration.

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