SOS candidates: Don’t nationalize elections; Republicans support SAVE Act

All four of Arkansas’ secretary of state candidates oppose nationalizing elections, while the Republicans support a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday (Feb. 11) that would require voters to present a photo identification and would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

Three Republicans and one Democrat are seeking to be secretary of state, which administers elections at the state level. The Republicans are state Sen. Kim Hammer, R-Benton; Miller County Judge Cathy Hardin Harrison, and Bryan Norris. The winner of the March 3 primary faces Democrat Kelly Grappe in the general election.

In addition, the Libertarian Party of Arkansas meets later this month to select its slate of candidates.

Current Secretary of State Cole Jester was appointed to the position by Gov. Sarah Sanders and is therefore ineligible to run for a full term.

The four current candidates were asked about their views in light of two developments at the federal level.

One was President Trump’s recent comments calling for increased federal involvement in administering elections.

As reported by CNN, Trump said during an Oval Office signing ceremony, “A state is an agent for the federal government in elections. I don’t know why the federal government doesn’t do them anyway, but when you see some of these states about, how horribly they run their elections, what a disgrace it is.”

The comments came after Trump had said in a podcast with former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino that “the Republicans should say, we want to take over, we should take over the voting, the voting in at least many, 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,” CNN reported.

Also, the House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the SAVE America Act, which sets national voter ID requirements and requires proof of citizenship such as a birth certificate or passport when registering to vote. The bill passed 218-213, with all Republicans, including Arkansas’ four House members, along with one Democrat voting yes.

The bill now moves to the Senate, where it is not expected to achieve the 60 votes that would be needed to overcome a filibuster by Democrats.

Article 1, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution states, “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of (choosing) Senators.”

Hammer said the federal government does not need to worry about Arkansas.

“I think that Arkansas is doing a good job of running our elections, and that I would not be in favor of a federal takeover of elections,” he said. “If the feds want to focus on anything, they need to go into the states that are identified as being problematic and focus on those states.”

Hammer said the federal government could send election monitors to states having election issues and should also provide resources to help states prevent illegal immigrants from voting.

Harrison said the federal government does not have a role in overseeing elections.

“Although we do receive federal funding for elections, I don’t think the federal government should be involved in state elections because every state varies,” she said. “I think Arkansas has a great election system in place, and I don’t know what the federal government could do to make Arkansas any better other than funding.”

Norris said the nation’s Founders designed elections to be administered at the state and local levels because local accountability produces better results that distant bureaucracies do.

He said the federal government does have a legitimate supporting role in areas such as foreign cyber threats, ensuring compliance with voting rights, and providing resources at states’ request.

He said he supports Trump’s desire to restore Americans’ confidence in elections.

“But the way you build trust is by making elections more transparent and accountable at the level closest to the people, not by centralizing power further from them,” he wrote. “That’s the whole philosophy behind my campaign: represent, not rule.”

Grappe, the Democratic candidate, said states have day-to-day administration responsibilities such as maintaining voter rolls and conducting audits. Recent audit findings show the state’s systems are working well.

She said the federal government does play a role in protecting civil rights under the 14th and 15th amendments, providing national security support, and providing funding to states to modernize equipment and strengthen infrastructure. Congress can “set limited baseline rules,” she said, while the president cannot unilaterally nationalize election administration.

“Security and accessibility are not opposing goals,” she wrote in an email. “A well-run system can do both. My approach is to protect the integrity of our elections, follow the Constitution, and continue improving systems that are already strong.”

As for the House Republicans’ Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE America Act, Hammer, Harrison and Norris said they would favor its provisions requiring a photo ID when voting as well as its requiring a legal document such as a birth certificate or passport when registering to vote.

Hammer said it is too easy for nonresidents to obtain a driver’s license, so another kind of legal document is needed when registering.

“Things like that that would require a standardization of eligibility across the board,” he said. “I could live with that, but much below that, I would probably show some resistance to it.”

Harrison expressed support for the bill’s provisions.

“I just know that when you come in and you have a green card, it’s easy to get a driver’s license,” she said. “So having that extra level of security to me would be a good thing.”

Norris said voters should be required to prove they are citizens, and he supports the national voter ID requirement.

“Voting is the most sacred act of self-governance a free people possess,” he said. “It is the mechanism by which we consent to be governed. And if that mechanism can be diluted, manipulated, or rendered meaningless by those who have no legal standing to participate, then we don’t have a republic anymore. We have a suggestion box.”

Grappe said she believes in citizen-only voting and election security, but Arkansas already has a voter ID law and other provisions with no evidence of widespread fraud.

“My concern is that this bill could make voter registration harder in a state that already struggles with civic participation, plant unnecessary doubt about election integrity, and add strain to county election teams who are already doing their jobs well,” she said. “We can protect security and access at the same time. If people feel strongly, they should contact their members of Congress and make their opinions known.”