How Should Voters Evaluate Candidates for Arizona Secretary of State? - Joe Hoft
Guest post by Linda Brickman
ADVERTISEMENTThe Right Questions for the Right Office
Before evaluating candidates, voters should first understand the office they seek.
So, before voters can determine which candidate is best qualified to serve as Arizona’s next Secretary of State, they must first answer a more fundamental question:
What qualifications should we be looking for?
ADVERTISEMENTToo often, voters begin with campaign mailers, endorsements, political advertisements, social media posts, personalities, or name recognition. Yet the most important question is often overlooked:
Are we asking the right questions to determine whether a candidate is qualified for the office they seek?
The Secretary of State is one of the most important constitutional offices in Arizona government. The individual elected will oversee elections, administer important state functions, and help shape public confidence in our electoral process for years to come.
The right questions are not about personalities; they’re about qualifications.
It is about understanding the office and its responsibilities, and asking the right questions before casting a vote.
Because informed citizens make informed decisions.
ADVERTISEMENTQuestion #1: Why Does a Qualified Secretary of State Matter?
Before voters can determine which candidate is best qualified to serve as Arizona’s next Secretary of State, they should first understand why the office matters.
The Secretary of State is one of Arizona’s most important constitutional officers. The office oversees elections, administers important state records and filings, and serves as a key link between citizens and their government. In certain circumstances, the Secretary of State may even succeed to the Governor’s Office.
These responsibilities require more than good intentions. They require knowledge, judgment, leadership, and an understanding of the laws and procedures that govern the office.
That leads to the next question:
Question #2: What Experience Is Most Relevant To The Duties Of The Secretary Of State?
Once voters understand why the office matters, the next question becomes equally important:
What experience is most relevant to the duties of the Secretary of State?
At first glance, the answer may seem obvious. Yet voters often find themselves evaluating candidates based upon campaign advertisements, endorsements, personalities, political affiliations, or name recognition rather than the actual responsibilities of the office.
A more useful approach is to begin with the duties of the position and work backwards.
What knowledge, experience, and skills would reasonably prepare someone to perform those duties?
The Secretary of State serves as Arizona’s Chief Elections Officer and is responsible for important election-related functions affecting millions of citizens. The office also administers public records, business filings, and other constitutional and statutory responsibilities that require sound judgment, leadership, and an understanding of state law.
With those responsibilities in mind, voters may wish to consider several questions.
Does experience with election law matter?
Does experience with election administration matter?
Does constitutional knowledge matter?
Does legislative experience matter?
Does leadership and management experience matter?
Does a demonstrated record of implementing policy matter?
Does experience working directly with Arizona citizens and Arizona government matter?
Reasonable voters may place different levels of importance on each of these qualifications. The important point is that candidates should be evaluated against the actual responsibilities of the office they seek, rather than against criteria that may have little relevance to the position.
Only after establishing those standards can voters fairly compare the qualifications, experiences, and accomplishments of the candidates seeking the office.
That leads to the next question:
How do the candidates compare when measured against those standards?
Question #3: How Do The Candidates Compare When Measured Against Those Standards?
Once voters have identified the experiences and qualifications they believe are most relevant to the office, the next step is to evaluate the candidates against those standards.
This is where many voters make a common mistake. Instead of beginning with the responsibilities of the office, they begin with personalities, endorsements, campaign slogans, or party affiliations. While those factors may influence an election, they do not necessarily answer the most important question:
Can this candidate perform the duties of the office?
Arizona’s Secretary of State serves as the State’s Chief Elections Officer, certifies election results, certifies candidates and ballot measures, oversees important election procedures, administers public records and business filings, and serves in the line of succession to the Governor. The office also plays a significant role in election administration and implementation of the Elections Procedures Manual, which carries the force of law once approved.
With those responsibilities in mind, voters may wish to compare candidates based upon factors such as:
The goal is not to determine which candidate is the most popular.
The goal is to determine which candidate’s experience, knowledge, and accomplishments are most relevant to the duties of the office they seek.
A Common Misconception About the Office
Many voters associate the Secretary of State primarily with elections. While elections are certainly one of the office’s most visible responsibilities, they are not its only responsibilities.
The Arizona Secretary of State serves as the State’s Chief Elections Officer, but the office also administers business filings, maintains important public records, oversees campaign finance and candidate filings, commissions notaries, serves as custodian of the Great Seal of Arizona, and stands in the line of succession to the Governor. These responsibilities require a broad range of knowledge, administrative ability, and public-service experience.
As voters evaluate candidates, they may wish to consider not only election-related experience, but also the broader responsibilities entrusted to the office.
The following comparison is intended to help voters evaluate those qualifications using publicly available information and the candidates’ own records and experience.
Secretary of State Candidate Comparison At A Glance
Before evaluating the candidates, voters should first determine which
qualifications are most relevant to the duties of the office.
| Evaluation Area | Alex Kolodin | Gina Swoboda |
| Election Law Experience | Has strong Election attorney experience with extensive election-related legal work | Moderate knowledge of election policy and voter-roll transparency advocacy |
| Election Litigation | Has strong direct involvement in election litigation and election-law cases | Associated with voter-roll transparency and voter-list maintenance litigation efforts |
| Constitutional Law Experience | Has strong Constitutional attorney experiences with legal and legislative experience | Limited as this is not a primary focus of her publicly highlighted experience |
| Legislative Experience | Current Arizona legislator; with strong experience drafting, debating, and voting on election-related legislation | Legislative affairs and government-relations experience; not a legislator |
| Election Administration Knowledge | Strong extensive involvement with election law, election procedures, election reform, and election policy | Moderate experience through election-integrity advocacy, voter-roll transparency efforts, and party leadership |
| Voter Roll Maintenance / Transparency | Strongly Supports election transparency and election-integrity initiatives | Moderately familiar with focus only through leadership of Voter Reference Foundation and VoteRef |
| Leadership Experience | Has strong Legislative leadership and public-policy leadership roles | Former Arizona Republican Party Chair and organizational leadership roles |
| Public Policy Experience | Strongly has direct experience creating and evaluating state laws and public policy | Moderately experienced advocating election-related policy and voter-roll transparency initiatives |
| Arizona Government Experience | Has strong service experience within Arizona Legislature and state policymaking process | Moderately experienced working with election policy, party leadership, and government affairs |
| Primary Strengths | Strongly experienced in Election law, constitutional law, legislation, election reform, public policy | Moderately experienced in voter-roll transparency, election advocacy, party leadership, voter-list maintenance |
Question #4: Are We Asking The Right Questions?
Perhaps the most important lesson voters can take from this election has little to do with any individual candidate.
It has to do with the questions we ask before casting our ballots.
Too often, elections become contests of personalities, endorsements, campaign advertisements, fundraising totals, or name recognition. While each of those factors may influence public opinion, they do not necessarily tell voters whether a candidate is qualified to perform the duties of the office they seek.
Citizens should be asking:
Do these candidates’ qualifications match the responsibilities of the office?
What accomplishments demonstrate their ability to perform the job?
What experiences are most relevant to the duties of the position?
What evidence exists that they can successfully serve in the office they seek?
These questions are not limited to the Office of Secretary of State. They apply equally to every office on the ballot.
Every elected office carries unique responsibilities. The qualifications that matter for one office may not be the qualifications that matter for another. A thoughtful voter understands that each office requires different knowledge, different experience, and different skills.
An informed electorate does more than simply cast ballots. It evaluates candidates based upon the duties of the office, the qualifications they possess, and the results they have achieved.
The future of self-government depends upon citizens who are willing to learn, to participate, and to ask thoughtful questions long before Election Day arrives.
The goal is not merely to vote.
The goal is to become an educated citizen capable of asking the right questions of the right candidates for the right office.
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