Editorial board, The Republic | azcentral.com
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Our View: State Sen. Michele Reagan has a long track record of election-law reform, which best prepares her for this office. The traditional duties of an Arizona secretary of state, such as keeping essential records and overseeing elections, seem so quaint these days. So anachronistic.
Keeping a list of voters who automatically receive early ballots, for example, once may have been an apolitical housekeeping matter. But don't tell that to the Republicans and Democrats fighting over whether to cleanse the list of people who don't vote early. Likewise, the secretary of state is at the center of the debate over "dark money," the money spent by all-but-anonymous organizations. The office should be an honest broker for developing policies to bring transparency to such groups. Again, that has become a fierce partisan battle that can compromise the office if the elected secretary of state lets it. And then there is a history of Arizona secretaries of state ascending unexpectedly to the governor's office. That is a consideration when weighing whom voters should favor.
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