Secretary of State Project Gives Dems a Bigger Say in Key Battleground States

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Politico.com notes that Democrats have gained "control of secretary of state offices in five key states -- Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico and Ohio -- where the difference between victory and defeat in the 2004 presidential election was no more than 120,000 votes. ... With a Democrat now in charge of the offices, which oversee and administer their state's elections, the party is better positioned than in the previous elections to advance traditional Democratic interests -- such as increasing voter registration and boosting turnout -- rather than Republican priorities such as stamping out voter fraud. Perhaps more important, in those five states Democrats are now in a more advantageous position when it comes to the interpretation and administration of election law -- a development that could benefit Barack Obama if any of those states are closely contested on Election Day." The Secretary of State Project is "affiliated with Democracy Alliance. ... 'We were tired of Republican manipulation of elections,' said Michael Kieschnick, a founder of the group who is also the president of Working Assets, a company that provides credit cards and mobile phone services to progressive organizations."