Overseeing elections is usually what keeps the Kansas secretary of state’s name in the news, J.R. Claeys said here Thursday, but it’s the office’s day-to-day duties that mean the most to businesses across state.
Claeys is one of three Republican candidates seeking the secretary of state’s office. Voters will choose between Claeys, Shawnee County Election Commissioner Elizabeth Ensley and former Kansas GOP chairman and constitutional law professor Kris Kobach in the Aug. 3 primary.
The winner will face the Democratic primary winner in November.
Claeys said his work experience makes him best suited for secretary of state and its diverse responsibilities.
“If you look at running for public office, you should look at where your talents lie,” Claeys told the Register while passing through town on a campaign tour of the state.
He counts experience in a number of advocacy groups for private business.
He served as president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Government Contractors, a trade association for small and midsize businesses involved in government contracting; as director of communications for the Small Business Exporters Association and the Small Business Technology Coalition. He also served as director of communications for the National Small Business Association.
The experiences, he said, illustrate the dire need to cut through bureaucratic paperwork that businesses must file in order to remain properly registered with the state.
The secretary of state’s office is fee-based, he noted. That means business essentially pay the state to file paperwork.
Online registration, he noted, could streamline the process. “We must make that process as efficient as possible,” he said.
AS FOR overseeing the state’s elections, Claeys said the Legislature is certain to pass a voter identification bill — requiring all voters to present identification in order to vote — into law in the new future.
Past legislation had been vetoed by Democratic governors. With Sam Brownback a virtual shoo-in as the next governor, that legislation should pass, Claeys said. The secretary of state’s role will be to educate the public about what it means, Claeys said.
Claeys pointed to his experience as an international election observer. He recounted experience in March 2009 when he prevented Nicaraguans from illegally voting in an election in El Salvador. He vows to do the same in Kansas.
Claeys also is an advocate of Kids Voting Kansas, which he said sparks an interest in civic responsibility for youngsters.
Claeys’ tour is taking him to all 105 counties to visit with county clerks or election officials.
“No two counties are alike,” and have different issues with elections, he said.
Becoming familiar with local voting processes is vital to a secretary of state, Claeys said.
CLAEYS, 32, is a Salina native. This is his first foray into elective politics.
He will be in Iola Saturday morning for a candidate forum from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Iola High School. The forum is sponsored by Allen County Farm Bureau.
