Help for Secretaries of State Running for Office in 2026

Suggestions for managing potential conflicts-of-interest

Summary: Voters can worry about election officials overseeing their own races. Opposing candidates often exaggerate the risks for political gain. These problems arise for secretaries running for re-election or for higher office. A Conflict-of-Interest Avoidance Program can help secretaries respond to both problems and be ready for questions from reporters.

Steps

Step 1. Assess risks. Determine what decisions (if any) the secretary may take that could create – or be perceived to create – a way for the secretary to help their own election or party. Functional areas to review vary by state and could include:

• Authority to call for investigations of candidates or campaigns

• Enforcement of campaign finance laws

• A role in approving third party candidate eligibility

• A role in certification of results

• A role in calling for or overseeing a recount

Step 2. Explore solutions. For any risks identified in step 1, assess what steps (if any) are legal and feasible for secretaries to take to reduce, suspend, or make more transparent their role in that decision.

Step 3. Publicize the findings and any plans. The conflict-of-interest avoidance program should be made public, so it can help build voter confidence and demonstrate proactive effort to address voter concerns. Even if the assessment concludes that no options exist for secretaries to lawfully reduce their role in areas of potential conflict, that fact is important to make clear to voters.

What Experts Say

“Election officials should establish and implement guardrails when running for office in their own jurisdiction, including to the extent feasible, recusing themselves from decisions that have a direct impact on their races.” – “Standards of Conduct for Election and Registration Officials,” The Election Center.

“Sitting secretaries of state in many states often run for office without significant electoral problems. That said, the appearance of a conflict of interest is a problem that election officials in any state should take seriously, especially when there are unfortunate doubts and suspicions in America about elections.” – Op-ed published in Bridge Michigan, December 5, 2025.

What Voters Say

• ‍78 percent of respondents to a poll in Arizona said election officials such as the secretary of state and county recorders should not be allowed to oversee decisions that could impact their own election.

• Nearly 60% of likely voters in a 2022 national survey said that election officials “should not be allowed to oversee decisions that could impact their own candidacy.”

• 95% of likely voters in a 2022 national survey said that it’s important to them “that state and local election officials act in an impartial manner."

Codifying These Voluntary Steps into State Law

The process described above can be conducted voluntarily, and it also can be codified into law, as Utah may do this legislative session. A pending Utah bill would require the Lieutenant Governor to create and publicize a “written conflict of interest risk avoidance plan that: "identifies specific types of decisions or actions the lieutenant governor may take, in the course and scope of the duties or powers of the office of lieutenant governor, that could create a conflict of interest by influencing, or being perceived to influence, the lieutenant governor's candidacy for an office.”

Passing this legislation would make Utah the first state in the nation to codify such a requirement.

For more information:

Designing Guidelines for Recusal by Election Officials, published by Election Reformers Network
Standards of Conduct for Election and Registration Officials, published by the Election Center
America's Top Election Referees Need More Support, published by Election Reformers Network

The recommendations in this document are endorsed by the following organizations and election leaders.

ERN

Election Reformers Network advances common-sense rules that protect elections from the country’s increasing polarization. Drawing on decades of experience at home and abroad, ERN develops model legislation and regulatory reforms to address long-standing structural problems in the U.S. election ecosystem. A nonpartisan 501c3 organization, ERN was founded in 2017.

Former Election Officials

Trey Grayson, former Secretary of State, KY
‍Phil Keisling,former Secretary of State, OR
‍Miles Rapoport, former Secretary of State, CT
‍Natalie Tennant, former Secretary of State, WV
‍Kim Wyman,former Secretary of State, WA

National Steering Committee

Co-founded by The Carter Center and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, the National Steering Committee on Trusted Elections aims to strengthen the integrity of U.S. elections and related Constitutional principles through initiatives and awareness aimed at fostering trust and implementing structural reforms.