There is more at stake this year than just the White House. The Republicans have mismanaged just about every state they have been running...and have turned American democracy into an embarassment with fraud, intimidation and, quite probably, outright stealing of elections.

Given the probably stolen elections in FL in 2000, GA Senate in 2002, Ohio in 2004, and Florida and North Carolina in 2006 (Congressional races), it seems our election system has some pretty serious problems and/or corruption in it. Even a Republican cybersecurity expert has said that it is probable that some of these elections were fraudulent. Florida's elections are so inadequate that the Carter Center, which monitors elections worldwide, refused to monitor Florida in 2004 because it didn't meet the minimum standards for democratic elections.

In each state there is an election board and a secretary of state which are supposed to deal with these problems and keep our elections running fairly and smoothly. But corrupt Republican secretaries of state (like Katherine Harris in Florida and Ken Blackwell in Ohio) and partisan election boards have helped steal elections. We need honest secretaries of state. That is the focus of the Secretary of State Project, started in 2006. The Secretary of State Project was created by concerned citizens to provide an easy-to-use, low-cost vehicle for online donations to key Secretary of State races.

In 2006, their first year, they won 5 out of the seven secretary of state races they targeted, including the critical swing states of Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Minnesota, and Ohio. We are better assured of fair elections in these critical states thanks to new, more honest secretaries of state. Jennifer Brunner in Ohio is winning awards for her reforms and she is even standing up to recent attempts at voter suppression by Republicans in Ohio. I believe that the efforts of the Secretary of State Project are critical in restoring democracy in America. Arguably more important even than winning the Presidency, though they go hand in hand.

This year they are targeting four states. Here is their rundown of their 2008 efforts, from their website:

Building on our successful model in 2006, the SoS Project is strategically focusing on a handful of key races this year - including county-level races. Our goal is to ensure fair, clean elections in 2008 and beyond.

There are two states we are targeting with open races for Secretary of State in 2008: Oregon and West Virginia. In Oregon, Democrat Kate Brown is running against GOP nominee Rick Dancer. In West Virginia, Natalie Tennant won the Democratic primary on May 13, despite being outspent 6 to 1 by her competitor. She is now fighting for the seat currently occupied by Betty Ireland, a partisan Republican who is currently working hard to oppose Election Day Registration.

In Montana, Democrat Linda McCulloch is trying to unseat ultra-conservative Brad Johnson. Johnson has been involved in an attempt by conservatives to rollback the state's Election Day Registration laws.

We are also working to protect the seat of a progressive Secretary of State in the key battleground state of Missouri. Democrat Robin Carnahan is a strong reformer who should win reelection. But given the importance of a fair election in Missouri, we need to be vigilant in this state.

Not all the action is happening at the state level. This year, the Secretary of State Project will also help elect reform-minded Democrats to key county-level posts in battleground states. A number of stark examples from 2004 and 2000, like Cuyahoga Co. in Ohio and Broward Co. in Florida, prove that manipulative county-level elections officials can exert a tremendous amount of influence over their results. Removing Republican operatives in three or four key counties could have a profound effect on the election. County-level targeting will be announced soon.

If you have suggestions about what 2008 races we should get involved in, email us at secstateproject - at - gmail - dot - com.

Help them out. Our democracy depends on it.