A new push to make election integrity job one for Republican secretaries of state is underway for this fall’s elections.
The Election Protection Initiative of the Republican State Leadership Committee is designed to be a counterweight to the Secretaries of State Project of liberal George Soros, according to the Daily Caller.
The Soros project sought to elect Democratic secretaries of state and liberalize election rules, while having a cadre of what the Daily Caller called “ideologically unified secretaries of state.”
The RSLC said that with 26 states electing secretaries of state this year, the stakes are high, according to a news release on its website.
Secretaries of state generally oversee elections in most states, although the network of state and local elections offices varies from state to state.
The RSLC said the EPI, which provides an “election integrity framework for Republican secretaries of state and candidates seeking office in 2026,” would lead to “secure, transparent, and accountable elections heading into the 2026 midterm elections and the 2028 presidential cycle.”
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“Voters deserve confidence that every legal vote is counted and that elections are administered fairly, securely, and transparently,” RSLC President Edith Jorge-Tuñón said.
“The Election Protection Initiative establishes a clear set of principles that will guide our efforts in secretary of state races across the country and support leaders committed to protecting the integrity of our elections,” he said.
The RSLC said the EPI has four core pieces: clean voter rolls, voter ID, transparency at every step, and secure ballots and independent elections. The Daily Caller said “bipartisan election observation, transparent reporting practices, post-election audits, and ballot-tracking systems” will be used to achieve those goals
The release said the EPI offers “a clear framework for secretary of state candidates and officeholders committed to protecting voter confidence and ensuring elections are administered fairly, securely, and consistently.”
“The launch comes as secretary of state races have become some of the most consequential and closely watched contests in American politics. Across the country, election administration failures, inconsistent procedures, and last-minute rule changes have created confusion for voters and raised questions about transparency and accountability,” the release said.
“Americans should not have to wait through uncertainty and litigation to have confidence in election outcomes,” the release said.
The release said the EPI builds on the 2021 Commission to Restore Public Confidence in Elections that was created “to identify best practices and reforms that would make it easier to vote and harder to cheat while preserving security, transparency, and accountability.”
“Secretaries of state are on the front lines of protecting election integrity, and the stakes in 2026 could not be higher,” Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, Chair of the Republican Secretaries of State Committee, said in a news release.
“With 26 races on the ballot, Republicans have a responsibility to ensure our elections are secure, transparent, and worthy of the public’s trust. The RSSC is united behind common-sense reforms that expand access to the ballot while preventing fraud, and I’m proud to lead this committee as we prepare for a pivotal election cycle,” Jacobsen said.
“In 2026, national liberal groups will once again target secretary of state races in an attempt to influence how elections are run. The RSSC is ready to push back, support strong Republican candidates, and ensure these offices remain focused on serving voters,” Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, vice chairman of the RSSC, said.
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