America’s Top Election Referees Need More Support

This week, secretaries of state from across the country are gathering in Washington, D.C., for the annual meeting of the National Association of Secretaries of State. In a less polarized era, this might have been a routine professional convening. In 2026, it feels deeply consequential.

Secretaries of state are the top referees of American democracy. In most states, they are the chief election officers — responsible for administering elections, certifying results, maintaining voter rolls, and communicating with the public about the integrity of the process. When elections go well, their work is mostly invisible. When something goes wrong — or is alleged to have gone wrong — the pressure is immediate and intense.

This year, that pressure is only growing.

The 2026 midterm elections are already looming large. Election officials are being asked to prepare for a high-stakes election amid shrinking resources, including cuts to critically important cybersecurity support previously provided by CISA, a federal agency targeted for cuts by the Trump Administration. Secretaries are navigating ongoing and often contentious requests for voter data from the Department of Justice. They face the prospect of further presidential executive actions on elections that could create mass confusion. All of this unfolds in a political environment defined by deep mistrust, rapid misinformation, and a willingness by some actors to challenge the legitimacy of election outcomes before ballots are even cast.

At the same time, the job itself is changing.

Secretaries of state are increasingly pulled into the doom loop of toxic politics that has seeped into every corner of our political system. In many states, they are elected in partisan races, expected to campaign, raise money, and take positions on contentious political issues — while simultaneously serving as neutral referees of the electoral process. Even when they act in good faith, the appearance of conflicts of interest can undermine public confidence.

These are not personal failings, they are structural problems. If we want election governance to be the pillar of integrity and neutrality that democracy requires, we need to rethink how we support secretaries of state.

That starts with clearer expectations and better tools. Sitting secretaries of state who are running for office should have access to robust support for conflict-of-interest avoidance — clear guidance about which decisions create risks, how those risks can be mitigated, and when recusal or delegation is appropriate. These plans should be proactive and transparent, not improvised after issues arise.

Supporting secretaries also requires clearer legal standards around political behavior. In most states, there are few meaningful limits on campaign endorsements, fundraising, or partisan leadership roles by chief election officials. Establishing firmer boundaries would help protect these officials and the institutions they serve.

More broadly, we need to invest in innovative models of election governance that reduce the burden on any single officeholder. For example, secretaries of state are often charged with writing ballot language for citizen initiatives, a task that easily becomes politicized and could instead be entrusted to impartial civil servants or citizen commissions. Likewise, nonpartisan election or board appointment of the chief election officer could change the incentives currently faced by secretaries who must run in partisan elections.

None of these ideas is radical. All are rooted in a simple insight: democracy works best when those running elections are insulated from political incentives tied to election outcomes.

The annual NASS meeting is an opportunity to acknowledge how much our democracy relies on the impartiality of secretaries of state. In a polarized moment, it can be tempting to demand ever more from individual officials. A better approach is to strengthen the system around them.

Strong election governance requires more than good intentions — it requires real support for the officials who serve as democracy’s guardians.