Jeremy Alford: Voting system will be big issue in next big election

Following a tumultuous term marked by controversies involving perceived election irregularities and lucrative voting machine contracts, Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin is preparing to run for re-election in 2023 — and the challengers are lining up.
Ardoin is probably expecting an all-out brawl, because that’s exactly what most of his counterparts around the country experienced during this year’s election cycle.

Incumbent secretaries from both parties were challenged by far-right candidates who claimed the recent presidential election was essentially rigged.

Every secretary of state candidate who ran on such a platform, including four who had endorsements from former President Donald Trump, lost last week.

That trend serves as a positive sign for Ardoin, who will nonetheless have a race on his hands.

Officially announced and running is Brandon Trosclair of Gonzales, a Republican businessman who employs more than 500 people at 13 grocery stores across Louisiana and Mississippi.

He’s also a member of the Republican State Central Committee.

Trosclair said he decided to run due to concerns over “voting irregularities” and the number of third-party vendors involved with the state’s voting machines.

A special commission recently recommended next steps for Louisiana’s aging voting system, but it’s unclear when exactly that might happen.

“I would take a whole different approach to that,” said Trosclair. “Everything would be owned by the state, owned by we the people.”

Trosclair intends to run to the right of the field while making an issue out of the controversial voting system selection process. He also plans to do it with Trump’s support.

“We will be fully endorsed by the spring,” said Trosclair, who wasn’t yet prepared to name which consultants he’s contracting with for his bid.

Across the nation last week, Republicans who questioned the accuracy of the 2020 presidential race ran for secretary of state under the banner of a pro-Trump organization called the America First Secretary of State Coalition.
Trosclair said he will have the group’s support — and spending power — when he runs in 2023, so Louisiana should expect to hear many of the same issues the coalition pushed in other states.

In a recent story about these candidacies and issues, Politico’s Zach Montellaro and Brittany Gibson used this description:

"If voted into office, these candidates could push to limit voting options beyond in-person voting on Election Day, targeting alternatives like early in-person voting or voting by mail.

While they cannot change state laws on elections unilaterally, secretaries of state can often set policy that could frustrate the process, making it more difficult for voters to register and to cast ballots by limiting access to drop boxes."

Asked why there’s such a spotlight on these races now, the Associated Press’ Nick Riccardi said in a Q&A, "In 2020, then-President Donald Trump tried to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden by getting state officials to claim he had won the popular vote in their states rather than his rival. He failed across the board.

"But now he’s backing a wave of candidates for secretary of state who say they would have overturned the 2020 election. That raises the stakes immensely for what was once a sleepy office."

Businessman Dustin Granger of Lake Charles, who ran unsuccessfully last year in Senate District 27, is said to be considering a bid as well.

So far, Granger is the first Democrat to express interest in a race that will be heavy on intrigue on the Republican side.

Asked for a response, Ardoin said, "I am running for reelection and I intend to run on my entire record as Secretary of State. Louisiana’s elections have recently been reviewed by the Heritage Foundation as 6th best in the country and as the most secure election operation in the south by the Electoral Project. I look forward to debating my opponent on all the dynamics necessary to lead the office of the Secretary of State, not just election services."

If you turn the clock back two terms in Louisiana, it would have been difficult to believe any secretary of state race here could draw so much attention and money.

But times have changed — not only here, but everywhere.

For more Louisiana political news, visit www. LaPolitics.com or follow Alford on Twitter @ LaPoliticsNow