ABSTRACT
National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) Statement on Remarks Made by NBC News Correspondent Andrea Mitchell: Secretaries of State Disappointed by Journalist’s Suggestion that Election Officials Will Prevent a Fair Election. In Mitchell’s view then-Senator Barack Obama “has to figure out a way to get a fair vote if he’s the nominee in those red states” because of the potential for “Katherine Harris-type election officials" in those states to tamper with the election results. Partisan bias can also be suspected or inferred when political parties sue a sitting Secretary or otherwise force a Secretary to take a stand for or against the legal position of a political party. The United States Congress recognized and endorsed this balance when it enacted the National Voter Registration Act in 1993. Iowa Secretary Michael Mauro and New Hampshire Secretary Bill Gardner both championed an effort to successfully enact Election Day Registration in their respective states.
