General Election

General Election in the United States

Scope of Legal Authority of Secretary of State

(Source: National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS))

The responsibilities and characteristics of the Secretary of State’s office can vary greatly from state to state. (…) While some Secretaries of State may be authorized to issue directives or other types of written guidance to local election officials, there are many issues over which they have no real authority. Much of the day-to-day decision-making lies with local election officials in the nation’s more than 9,000 different election jurisdictions.

Many state concerns have to do with compliance and litigation. The federal government has adopted laws such as the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE/UOCAVA), which hold the Secretary of State’s office legally accountable for certain aspects of compliance. However, without any legal authority to conduct oversight or compel local election officials to action, Secretaries of State find themselves facing only costly remedies, such as being sued by the U.S. Department of Justice (the fact that local jurisdictions may not always be familiar with the details of federal law only compounds the problem). For example, the National Voter Registration Act requires the Secretary of State to compel the division of motor vehicles and social services agencies to conduct voter registration activities. However, the Secretary of State typically has no legal authority over these other state agencies.

State Suggestions for Mitigating Scope of Authority Problems:

  • Some participants suggested that it would be helpful to have a state law that provides administrative/rulemaking authority for the Secretary of State as chief state election official.
  • Pending legislation in Connecticut would clarify that the Secretary of State’s directives, which under current law are presumed to be correct, must be followed subject to enforcement by the State Election Enforcement Commission.
  • Some states create and maintain a file of written communications with locals regarding federal requirements for various laws (i.e. Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act, the National Voter Registration Act) and provide these materials to U.S. Department of Justice/federal officials, when requested by authorities.
  • Some states provide a quality control checklist for local jurisdictions, which can also help with compliance issues and ensure consistency at the local level.
  • Michigan sued local jurisdictions in an effort to ensure full state compliance with the 2009 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act.
  • Some states suggested a grading system for counties based on performance. Grades are broken down into items like list maintenance, operational equipment, voter turnout, and poll worker recruitment and training. (…)
  • Some states focus on project management by issuing calendars, memos, and plenty of reminders to help local officials remain in compliance with federal law

See Also

    • Election
    • Nonpartisan Election
    • Primary Election History
    • At-Large Election
    • Federal Election Commission
    • Runoff Primary Election
    • Voter Registration
    • Partisan Election
    • Direct Election of Senators
    • Primary Election
    • Election Redistricting
    • Election
    • National Voter Registration Act Of 1993 (11.9)

Concept of General Election

In the U.S., in the context of Voting, Campaigns and Elections General Election has the following meaning: The constitutional method for selection of government officials by voters marking their choices on ballots, with the winner of the votes (using either a majority or plurality decision rule) winning election to the government post. (Source of this definition of General Election : University of Texas)

General Election

General Election Background

Resources

See Also

  • Voting
  • Campaigns
  • Elections

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