Can state officials fire local elections administrators in some states?
The U.S. election system leaves most decisions about running elections to the states, and the states typically delegate many administrative aspects to counties or even cities and townships.
Some states retain the authority to intervene at the local level by firing or suspending local administrators. In 2019, South Carolina’s governor fired the entire board in one county. In January, Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab declined to reappoint Sedgwick County Elections Commissioner Tabitha Lehman, recently diagnosed with cancer, citing the state's policy prohibiting election workers from working remotely due to security concerns.
A controversial new Georgia law sidelines the secretary of state, making the state’s board more directly answerable to the legislature. The board was also granted new powers to replace county officials under certain circumstances.
