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| Formation | 2006 |
|---|---|
Formed in the fall of 2006 by Becky Bond, Michael Kieschnick and James Rucker,[1] the Secretary of State Project was an American non-profit, progressive or liberal 527 political action committee focused on electing reform-minded progressive Secretaries of State in battleground states,[2] who typically oversee the election process. They hoped to prevent a repeat of Florida 2000, where the projects backers claimed that a Republican Secretary of State, Katherine Harris, took a partisan role in helping to determine the 2000 presidential election results.[1] The Project was funded by George Soros and members of the Democracy Alliance including Gail Furman, John R. Hunting; Paul Rudd; Pat Stryker; Nicholas Hanauer; Rob Stein; Drummond Pike; Robert Bowditch; Scott Wallace; Susie Tompkins Buell; Albert Dwoskin; and Rob McKay.[3]
A notable achievement of the Secretary of State Project was the election of Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie in 2006. Ritchie played a pivotal role in adjudicating the 2008 Senate race between Al Franken and Norm Coleman, by examining disputed absentee ballots during the Minnesota Senate recount.[4]
In 2010 during the midterm election GOP wave, the PAC was run by Laura Packard. 2 of 7 candidates were re-elected (California Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie). After 2010, the Project had disappeared.[5]
- ^ a b "Secretaries of state give Dem firewall" Politico article, November 2, 2008.
- ^ "Top vote counter becomes prize job" USA Today article, August 17, 2006.
- ^ Neubauer, Chuck (June 23, 2011). "Soros and liberal groups seeking top election posts in battleground states". Washington Times.
- ^ "A recount to make Minnesota proud" Mark Ritchie's op ed, Minnesota Public Radio, July 7, 2009.
- ^ "Amid voter I.D. battle, Democrats launch PAC for Secretary of State races", Washington Post, Aaron Blake, December 12, 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2014.