It used to be that secretaries of state were very little-known positions. However, after what took place in 2020, many people across the country have woken up to the fact that secretaries of state are actually incredibly important positions. They determine how a state’s election is run—and, as we learned in recent years, they also often decide which laws to follow and which to ignore.
For instance, during the pandemic, the secretaries of state in multiple states allowed for ballot drop boxes and mail-in voting provisions that were directly at odds with what was written in the law. However, since that election, states across this nation have moved in one of two directions: they have either gone the route of California, allowing for universal mail-in voting and explicitly not requiring picture IDs—or they have gone the route of Georgia by tightening up who can vote, when they can vote, limiting the use of drop boxes, and explicitly outlawing the practice of sending out mass absentee ballot request forms to everyone….