It is broad knowledge that America has 50 states. In political matters, it is the Governors who are well-known to the public. Little-known are the Secretaries of State who, interestingly, play an important role, not only in how states are run, but also in the conduct of elections. They have, however, come out of the shadows into the spotlight since the 2020 elections. This article by Zach Montellaro is published by Politico. Here is an excerpt:

The nation’s secretaries of state used to be little-known, wonky bureaucrats who operated in near-anonymity. But after the 2020 election, they are now on the frontlines of the battle over trust in American democracy.

Since the last time they gathered in person more than a year-and-a-half ago, the secretaries of state have seen their jobs — and U.S. elections — change completely. And they are still grappling with how to respond.

Interviews with a dozen state chief election officers at the National Association of Secretaries of State summer conference here, along with panel discussions and conversations with other conference attendees, paint a picture of a radically different American election system post-2020, reshaped by a once-in-a-generation pandemic on one side and a near-unprecedented wave of misinformation on the other.

Read the full article here.