Secretary of State Candidates Win Right to Face off in November
PORTLAND, Ore. — A big race with important results for Oregon is for the Secretary of State’s job. The person voters elect will be first in line to take over the governor’s job, and is in charge of elections and audits. And they also would take the job after the previously elected secretary of state resigned amid relevations of a second job that conflicted with one of her audits. In this week’s election, current state treasurer Tobias Read won the democratic primary. He explains what his focus would be, if voters elect him.
“We should not make the mistake of thinking that the wonderful way we do elections in Oregon with mail in ballots and automatic voter registration are invulnerable. There are people who are trying to roll that back, who are threatening violence and intimidation. So the Secretary of State needs to be in a strong position to defend those. In addition, the Secretary of State is the auditor, and we need an audit process that is driven not by politics, but by a realistic and rigorous assessment of risk.”
“Election integrity is a big issue. It’s probably the primary issue for a secretary of state. The secretary of state is also the state’s chief auditor. This too is important and the secretary of state sits on the land board, and on the board of sustainability at the governor’s level. But back to the secretary of state, their focus has been grounded and I’ll put this in their quotes in transparency, accountability and fairness.”