We Expect Election Referees to Be Neutral. So Why Do We Make Them Pick a Team?

Originally published in Independent Voter News

America’s secretaries of state are under extraordinary pressure ahead of this year’s elections.

On top of the already demanding task of administering elections for millions of voters, they face persistent conspiracy theories about elections and unprecedented legal pressure from the Department of Justice.

Amid these challenges, election officials from both parties have demonstrated the integrity and independence the job demands, rebutting false claims of fraud and resisting federal demands that exceed the law.

This response is encouraging, but it also illustrates a contradiction at the heart of how we run elections. We expect our election officials to behave impartially, even when political pressure is greatest. Yet in 33 states, the chief election official (usually the secretary of state) is chosen through partisan elections.