VIDEO: The threat to democracy in NC’s secretary of state race

The NC Secretary of State’s office is, for now, a low-visibility, bookkeeping job. But Cardinal & Pine Senior Editor Billy Ball says we should all be concerned if Republicans win it and start changing the job description.

Remember when I said that it’s absolutely possible that, if a Republican wins the NC secretary of state race this year, election deniers could start wreaking havoc on our elections?

Consider this more food for thought. 

Republicans are going all fire and brimstone on our state’s Board of Elections for what they’re calling “election interference.” 

Remember, the board of elections handles our state’s elections — not our secretary of state’s  office, like in so many other states.

They’re stirring the pot because the board of elections, an appointed board with a 3-2 Democratic majority, blocked the certification of one third party candidate on the presidential ballot, Cornell West, because it looked like Republicans were trying to hack the process and get him on the ballot to drain votes from Kamala Harris. 

There’s some concern that supporters of those third-party candidates bypassed getting the required number of signatures to be on the ballot by forming prop political parties instead, which requires fewer signatures. 

Republicans are talking about this board of elections as if it’s doing criminal things. What does that have to do with the secretary of state’s race? Bear with me. I’m getting there. 

All that outrage is Republicans making a case. Because if a Republican should win the secretary of state’s race, the legislature could try to move election certification powers over from the board of elections—which is appointed by the governor out of a list of candidates submitted by the two political parties—to a single election-denying MAGA candidate.

They’d probably get sued for doing that, but these folks get sued more often than some people brush their teeth, so that’s not stopping them. 

It’s not farfetched at all. In many other states, the secretary of state has a lot more power over elections, but NC’s secretary is a more low-profile, bookkeeping-type job.

Elaine Marshall, the Democrat who’s held the office for 27 years, says she wants to keep it that way. She’s focused her re-election campaign on helping to promote small businesses and fair investing. 

Let’s meet her opponent, Republican Chad Brown from Gaston County. 

On his website, the very first thing Brown promises to do is “Protect our elections and ensure that every vote is counted.” 

In conservative circles, that’s code. One nonpartisan study after another has found our elections to be safe. Full stop.  

But Republican politicians, led by Donald Trump, keep lying to their supporters about election fraud. 

When I asked Elaine Marshall if she was worried about this, she said YEAH—and that if her opponent gets elected, Republican legislators will use the office to change who runs elections. 

The secretary of state race will be on the ballot for every single North Carolina voter this November. For more info on this and other important NC races, follow us @cardinalandpine. 

 

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