It was Election Day last November, and one of Georgia맥스카지노�s top election officials saw that reports of a voting machine problem in an eastern Pennsylvania county were gaining traction online.Video above: How Secretaries of State Work to Ensure Trust in ElectionsSo Gabriel Sterling, a Republican who had defended the 2020 election in Georgia amid an onslaught of threats, posted a message to his nearly 71,000 followers on the social platform X explaining what had happened and saying that all votes would be counted correctly.He faced immediate criticism from one commenter about why he was weighing in on another state맥스카지노�s election while other responses reiterated false claims about widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election.맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s still the right thing to do,맥스카지노� Sterling told a gathering the following day, stressing the importance of Republican officials speaking up to defend elections. 맥스카지노�We have to be prepared to say over and over again -- other states are doing it different than us, but they are not cheating.맥스카지노�Sterling, the chief operating officer for the Georgia Secretary of State맥스카지노�s Office, is part of an effort begun after the last presidential election that seeks to bring together Republican officials who are willing to defend the country's election systems and the people who run them. They want officials to reinforce the message that elections are secure and accurate, an approach they say is especially important as the country heads toward another divisive presidential contest.The group has held meetings in several states, with more planned before the Nov. 5 election.With six months to go before the likely rematch between Democratic President Joe Biden and former Republican President Donald Trump, concerns are running high among election officials that public distrust of voting and ballot counting persists, particularly among Republicans. Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, continues to sow doubts about the last presidential election and is warning his followers 맥스카지노� without citing any evidence 맥스카지노� that Democrats will try to cheat in the upcoming one.This past week, during a campaign rally in Michigan, Trump repeated his false claim that Democrats rigged the 2020 election. 맥스카지노�But we맥스카지노�re not going to allow them to rig the presidential election,맥스카지노� he said.Just 22% of Republicans expressed high confidence that votes will be counted accurately in November, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll last year.맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s an obligation on Republicans' part to stand up for the defense of our system because our party -- there맥스카지노�s some blame for where we stand right now,맥스카지노� said Kentucky's secretary of state, Michael Adams, who is part of the group and won reelection last year. 맥스카지노�But it맥스카지노�s also strategically wise for Republicans to say, 맥스카지노�Hey Republicans, you can trust this. Don맥스카지노�t stay at home.맥스카지노�"The effort, which began about 18 months ago, is coordinated by the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and the center-right think tank R Street Institute. The goal has been to start conversations about trust in elections, primarily among conservative officials, and to develop a set of principles to accomplish that.맥스카지노�This has never been and will never be about Trump specifically,맥스카지노� said Matt Germer, director of governance for the R Street Institute and a lead organizer of the effort. 맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s about democratic principles at a higher level 맥스카지노�- what does it mean to be a conservative who believes in democracy, the rule of law?"He said an aim is to have a structure in place to support election officials who might find themselves in situations like that of Georgia' secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger in 2020, when he supported Trump but rejected false claims that the election was stolen. Prosecutors in Georgia have since charged Trump and others, alleging a plot to overturn the results. Trump has pleaded not guilty.맥스카지노�You can be a Republican and you can believe in all the Republican ideas without having to say the election was stolen,맥스카지노� Germer said.A guiding principle for the group is that Republican officials should 맥스카지노�publicly affirm the security and integrity of elections across the U.S. and avoid actively fueling doubt about elections in other jurisdictions.맥스카지노�Kim Wyman, a Republican who previously served as Washington state맥스카지노�s top election official, said it맥스카지노�s imperative when officials are confronted with questions about an election somewhere else that they don맥스카지노�t avoid the question by promoting election procedures in their own state.It's OK to say you don맥스카지노�t know the various laws and procedures in another state, Wyman said, but she urged fellow Republicans to emphasize what states do have in common -- "the security measures, the control measures to make sure the election is being conducted with integrity.맥스카지노�Kansas' secretary of state, Scott Schwab, a Republican who has participated in meetings organized by the group, said he believes there are certain aspects of elections that officials should feel comfortable talking about. But he said he would remain cautious of speaking directly about something specific happening in another state.맥스카지노�If I start going beyond my realm and my role, then they don맥스카지노�t trust me. And if they don맥스카지노�t trust me, then they don맥스카지노�t trust the elections in Kansas, and that맥스카지노�s pretty important,맥스카지노� Schwab said in an interview.Some election officials who have questioned election procedures outside their state have a different perspective.Secretary of State Mac Warner of West Virginia, a Republican who has questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 election, said the focus should be on improving policies, such as putting in place voter ID requirements across the country, not silencing those who have questions.맥스카지노�Our primary job as election officials is to build confidence, and that comes from strengthening protocols and not weakening them,맥스카지노� he said.Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican who has raised questions about the way elections are run in other states, criticized what he called 맥스카지노�activist lawsuits맥스카지노� and state officials who seek to change voting rules previously set by legislators.맥스카지노�The things that happen in other states that go wrong are not the result of some cloak and dagger, secretive cabal conspiracy,맥스카지노� he said in an interview. 맥스카지노�That맥스카지노�s the far-fetched stuff that makes for great YouTube videos and what have you. But the real things that go wrong in other states, are out in the open, are in full public view.맥스카지노�Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, a Republican who is the state맥스카지노�s top election official and has been participating in the group's discussions, said avoiding criticism of other states and vouching for the legitimacy of election procedures is important for another reason: It can help reduce the threats and harassment directed toward election workers.A recent survey by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's Law School found that nearly 40% of local election officials had experienced such abuse. It's caused many to leave their jobs. Of 29 clerks in Utah, Henderson said 20 are new since 2020 and nine have never overseen an election.맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s one thing to suggest that someone could do something better. It맥스카지노�s another thing to impugn their integrity, their character, accuse them of cheating, accuse them of nefarious things that don맥스카지노�t happen,맥스카지노� Henderson said. 맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s exhausting.맥스카지노�