Secretary of State Jason Gant has finally done some good. Through his boundless incompetence in office, he has inspired two bills to reform the Secretary of State's office.
First, Senator Stan Adelstein offers Senate Bill 81 to prohibit the kind of politicking that Secretary Gant and his minions have happily performed while bearing the sacred duty of keeping our elections clean. SB 81 says that the Secretary of State and any of his employees involved in running elections may not...
- Endorse any candidate for election to congressional, state, or legislative office; or
- Work for, volunteer for, or otherwise assist any candidate for election to congressional, state, or legislative office; or
- Advise or consult with any candidate for election to congressional, state, or legislative office.
All of the above have happened under Secretary of State Jason Gant, casting doubt on the Secretary of State's ability to run a fair election. Senator Adelstein, a vociferous critic of Sec. Gant's stubborn and stupid malfeasance, wants to restore the public trust with a bill that a better Secretary of State would not have inspired.
Secretary Gant also inspires Senator Adelstein to advocate an interesting electoral reform. His Senate Bill 82 calls for non-partisan election of the Secretary of State. SB 82 would put the Secretary of State candidates on a separate ballot and prohibit any party from nominating or endorsing a candidate. But the most interesting provision of SB 82 is the last line, Section 9:
The nominees for the office of secretary of state are the two persons receiving the highest number of votes in the primary election.
Ooooo! Automatic run-off voting! That could be fun!
That could also be Senator Adelstein's way of keeping an inferior, unqualified Republican who manages to finagle his party's nomination from winning the Secretary of State's office in November just because he has an R next to his name. The non-partisan election allows a qualified heavy-hitter from the GOP bench to have a shot at protecting the Secretary of State's office from someone like Gant in November. (Teresa Bray, got your campaign buttons handy?)
Both of Senator Adelstein's reforms are worth discussing. Senate Bill 81 deserves immediate passage to address Secretary Gant's demonstrated abuses of the public trust. Senate Bill 82 would not directly change the daily operation of the Secretary of State's office, but it would be an interesting electoral experiment.
This will be interesting. I hope it passes. It looks like the election for the AG's office would turn in to a Run Off voting via a two-round system.
I hope this passes... but I have a feeling the bill will be killed pretty quickly...
3.Advise or consult with any candidate for election to congressional, state, or legislative office.
Would this interfere with the SoS's official duties in any way? If someone has a question about a procedure or how something works in the election process (notorizing your own petition, or inquiring about the appropriate language on a petition, for instance), would that tie the Secretary of State from giving an official opinion of the office?
Ooo! Wayne, that's a reasonable point. Perhaps we need an amendment to clarify that the Secretary and employees may not advise or consult candidates except on matters directly pertaining to the election rules enforced by the Secretary of State's office and that they may not do so for pay as private contractors, the way Pat Powers was doing while working for Gant last spring.
Christina, would both parties kill the ron-off-vote bill to keep the guarantee that they'll always have one candidate on the ballot? Would Dems vote against this?