ABSTRACT
In recent years, Secretaries have developed a variety of approaches when they have embraced their responsibility to protect voters’ rights. Some have developed comprehensive and proactive strategies, such as Ohio Secretary Brunner’s Voting Rights Institute. Secretaries could also engage in efforts to protect the sanctity of what is placed on the ballot itself, such as programs to ensure individuals gathering signatures to place something on the ballot are not deceiving voters when soliciting their signatures. The role of the Secretary of State in selecting and implementing ballot counting technology has received increased attention in the post-2000 election world. Long before the Secretaries in those states began their investigations, New Hampshire Secretary Bill Gardner was speaking out about his concerns about the security of electronic voting systems. In late 2007, reacting to complaints arising out of the 2004 election, Ohio Secretary Jennifer Brunner assembled a team of highly qualified computer scientists to evaluate the machines and test their reliability.
