OnPolitics: How secretary of state elections became the new battleground for election deniers
Hey OnPolitics readers! Secretary of state races have become more competitive this year as former President Donald Trump runs at the top of the Republican ticket in the presidential race.
That's because most of the seven states where secretary of state elections are held this year – Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia – feature prominent Trump supporters questioning the validity of the 2020 election and vowing to reform the elections process in a way that some say could keep voters from the polls, your OnPolitics author reported.
🔎Secretary of state role under increased scrutiny in recent years: Extra attention has been given to the secretary of state role as some officials have spread false allegations of rigged elections, widespread voter fraud and manipulated voting machines, experts told USA TODAY.
🏆Election deniers aim for victories: In the 2022 midterm elections, Trump endorsed four candidates in crucial battleground states running for secretary of state. All four of them lost, handing victories to their Democratic opponents. This year, supporters of the former president are hoping to reverse that loss, with some boosted by the former president running on a national ticket.
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❓Will voters reject election deniers in 2024? Numerous polls indicate that voters will likely be casting their ballots along party lines. A Pew Research Center survey found that only 6% of voters crossed party lines in the 2022 midterm elections. With most states that candidates are running in this year being reliably red or blue, some parties already have a built-in advantage over others. Nevertheless, organizing efforts on the ground are underway to boost voter turnout, especially in Missouri, which has the most crowded primary this year on both sides of the aisle.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Secretary of state elections: the new battleground for election deniers
