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Committee approves House Bill 86 expanding who may trigger removal complaints for election code violations
Summary
House Bill 86, which would add the Secretary of State and clarify who may submit verified complaints to the governor for removal of county officers in election‑code matters, passed the committee 6–3 after testimony that split between concerns about centralizing authority and arguments that the change is needed when audit evidence suggests statewide implications.
House Bill 86 would add the Secretary of State as an authorized complainant, alongside qualified electors and county commissioners, for verified complaints to the governor seeking removal of county officers for alleged misconduct tied to election code violations.
Chairman Knapp said the bill responds to the working group's review of the 2024 Weston County post‑election audit and is intended to provide a path for the Secretary of State to submit a verified complaint in cases where an audit raises issues that exceed local fact patterns. Secretary of State counsel Joe Rubino and other witnesses offered background on verified complaint procedures under title 18 and the working group’s findings.
Opponents including Gail Simmons (Civics 307), the League of Women Voters (Marguerite Herman) and others said adding the statewide elected Secretary of State as a complainant risks politicizing a locally accountable removal process and argued that existing local tools were sufficient. Simmons said HB 86 "adds political leverage, not improved governance." Marguerite Herman of the League of Women Voters urged the committee to preserve the locally rooted complaint path and warned that insertion of a statewide office could complicate local accountability.
Supporters including Chairman Knapp and other members said the change is narrow and limited to election‑code related complaints and may be needed when audits bring new statewide evidence that local actors would not have uncovered. Committee debate focused on whether adding a statewide office would compromise impartiality or provide necessary oversight in exceptional circumstances.
Representative Johnson moved the bill and Representative Strzok seconded. The roll call produced six ayes and three nos; the committee passed HB 86.
