Despite saying publicly that there are widespread election fraud issues involving a recount in Campbell County in 2022, two Northern Kentucky political candidates provided testimony that said there wasn’t.
That contradiction led Campbell County Judge Daniel Zalla to point to it in a ruling certifying election results in the Senate District 24 Republican primary last year.
The testimony from former Secretary of State candidate Stephen Knippper and former Senate District 24 candidate Jessica Neal was in response to a recount effort from Neal, a former candidate in the Senate District 24 Republican primary and a member of the Campbell County Republican Party’s election integrity committee, who has pushed conspiracy theories about elections in Kentucky and their potential for fraud.
Neal’s efforts mirrored a few other recount cases statewide, and the team in charge of litigating against those false claims was made up of attorneys from the state board of elections, which is chaired by Kentucky’s secretary of state.
As the chief election officer in the commonwealth, the secretary of state is responsible for fighting back against those claims.
“Most notably, the secretary of state is the chief election official. All statewide (and) judicial (candidates) or candidates who represent more than one county must file with the office in order to run,” said Michon Lindstrom, who currently serves as communications director in the secretary of state’s office. “In addition, the secretary of state serves as chair of the State Board of Elections.”
Since 2020, when former President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the election was stolen from him, claims about the integrity of the U.S. election system have taken the spotlight, and now secretaries of state are charged with fighting against a rash of misinformation.
“The secretary of state and (his or her) employees spend a lot of their time correcting or dispelling misinformation,” Lindstrom said. “The disinformation about the election process that has gained prominence since 2020 has elevated the position of SOS to become more notable. It is important that the public know the SOS and other election officials are the only source of trusted election information.”
The secretary of state is also tasked with being an actual secretary. They are responsible for keeping a register of all official acts of Kentucky’s governor – it’s called the executive journal.
“The executive journal contains pardons, restorations of civil rights, requisitions and extraditions, appointments, proclamations and reorganizations,” Lindstrom said.
The role also includes acting as the filing agent for legislation passed into law by the Kentucky Legislature and signed by the governor. The Legislature can also pass legislation into law if it has enough numbers to override a governor’s veto or the governor doesn’t sign a bill, and it automatically becomes law.
Lastly, all businesses in the commonwealth must register and renew their registration with the secretary of state’s office.