Thinking about Elections

CONFLICT OF INTEREST! Do officials administering elections in your state have political interests in the outcome? That is the case in the majority of US states. For instance, Kemp, the governor of Georgia, ran for that office while he was Secretary of State overseeing the state’s elections. In 33 states, voters elect their chief election official. In others, the chief election officer is appointed by a partisan governor. The problem is clear. No other democracy allows this. The US shouldn’t either. Yet few states have laws or codes of conduct addressing conflicts of interest in election administration. Utah is the first to tackle this head on.

Utah’s recent legislation (SB 194) makes it the first state to put into law measures preventing potential conflicts of interest. The statute prevents their chief elections officer from self-dealing in their own election. It blocks county clerks from favoring one side and requires them to recuse from approving candidacy signatures of potential challengers. It codifies ethical standards and strengthens neutrality of election officials. The bill passed with huge bipartisan majorities in both chambers in deep red Utah.

Who wouldn’t agree that elections should be run impartially. Yet, from 2000 - 2020:

+ 40% of secretaries of state simultaneously ran for higher office

+ About 20% lost lawsuits arising because their actions favored their political party.

A YouGov survey of voters in 2024 found that 77% of Americans support “only selecting election officials on a nonpartisan basis.” * If you agree with that, contact your state legislators to tell them that you want them to do what Utah did.

“Trust in elections depends on voters believing the people in charge aren’t trying to help one side win,” said Kevin Johnson from Election Reformers Network, an organization specializing in election ethics.”

*see MIT Election Lab report “How We Voted in 2024”

https://www.electionreformers.org/articles/precedent-setting-election-ethics-law-passes-utah-legislature