Secretary of State office details election logistics if governor's school-board plan moves forward

At a joint meeting of the Government Operations & Military Affairs committees, Lauren Hayward of the Secretary of State's Office outlined the election-administration work the office says is necessary if the governor's proposal to create statewide school-board districts goes forward.

Hayward told members the most urgent items are deciding district lines and the number and apportionment of wards inside each district so the office can prepare ballots and run an election if the first contest is held on the general-election ballot in November 2026. "If the proposal moves forward, we need to know how to run this election. So that's why it's urgent," Hayward said.

The secretary of state’s memo and Hayward’s presentation flagged several technical and timetable requirements: mapping and warding work in 2025, integration of new races into the state's election-management software, petition and filing deadlines for candidates, and ballot-printing and mail deadlines. Hayward said the administration's initial proposal calls for five statewide districts but that number could change; the office's principal operational need is to know the district count and how wards will be apportioned inside each…