Secretary of State’s Office grilled at Legislative Audit Committee

Keila Szpaller

(Daily Montanan) Lawmakers quizzed Montana Secretary of State official Austin James on Thursday about voter information the office turned over to the federal government — but James wouldn’t provide additional details, citing the threat of litigation.

In a spirited discussion during the Legislative Audit Committee meeting, James also said some legislators exploited his absence from an earlier meeting — due to the birth of his son and explained to the chairman — to play “repulsive politics at its worst.”

Rep. Mary Caferro, a Helena Democrat, interjected to tell James she objected to his “inflammatory presentation” and called for decorum, and James pledged to be respectful but also said he needed to defend himself.

“My integrity was drug through the mud in front of the press, and I don’t believe that that was fair either,” said James, elections director and chief legal counsel for the Secretary of State’s Office.

Actions by Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen have elicited criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike, and her absence from recent meetings, including one where her office received an audit with problematic findings, has been a point of contention.

Some legislators and members of the public have questioned her decision to send and pay for a postcard announcing a partnership with the federal government — featuring a picture of Jacobsen and Trump — as well as a billboard that announces a new law — featuring a headshot of Jacobsen.

The Secretary of State’s Office has defended the postcard and billboard as appropriate voter outreach.

Thursday, James said the federal government offered a voter roll maintenance tool at a discount if states conducted voter outreach; he said the postcard worked well, and the tool cost a fraction of its $1.2 million price.

“Some of our colleagues across the country were massively criticized for the ineffectiveness of their outreach because their voters didn’t see things in the mail, and they were left uninformed,” James said.

Jacobsen did not attend the meeting Thursday. Committee Chairman Jerry Schillinger, a Circle Republican, said he would have appreciated her presence, but Schillinger also thanked James, who presented to the group and took questions for nearly 30 minutes.

Sen. Laura Smith, a Helena Democrat, asked James multiple questions about the voter information his office provided to the U.S. Department of Justice, and Smith also said she didn’t understand the reason he didn’t answer.

Smith said she had received many questions from constituents, who had an impression the Secretary of State was “hiding the ball.”

“I’m just really struggling with why you won’t tell us what voter information has been provided to the federal government,” Smith said.

Last year, the federal Department of Justice demanded voter records from states across the country in a move the Brennan Center for Justice has said is both “unprecedented” and an encroachment on the power of states to run elections.

Part of the New York University School of Law, the Brennan Center is a legal advocacy and policy institute with a mission to strengthen democracy.

The Secretary of State’s Office has not explained the specific information it provided in response to the demand from the federal government. However, Jacobsen has said her office turned over information while also protecting Montanans’ privacy, enshrined in the state Constitution.

In response to questions, James said the federal DOJ is asserting that it can force states to ensure compliance with federal voting law, but he declined to offer specifics to the committee.

“It’s not in my best interest to provide an opposing party with facts in a situation where a lawsuit may be imminent from the federal government,” James said.

But James also tried to explain an earlier statement Jacobsen made to the DOJ that her office had “fully satisfied” its request.

Smith said that request was for unredacted information, and she wanted to know why James wouldn’t tell the public what the Secretary of State did if the office followed the law.

James said he believed Smith as a lawyer would understand the distinction he wanted to make. His response suggested the federal government and Secretary of State have a different interpretation of what the law requires.

“The federal government asserted the law. I’m asserting that we complied with the law. Those are two different things,” James said.

At the meeting, James again said the Secretary of State served voters, including their privacy, “very well.” He said the DOJ has sued some 30 states, and Montana has avoided litigation despite an “extremely high threat.”

The head of the interim State Administration and Veterans Affairs committee, Sen. Theresa Manzella, earlier said the Secretary of State’s Office informed her it had provided voter rolls with redacted driver’s license numbers but unredacted partial Social Security Numbers to the feds.

Caferro asked James if that was the case, but James again declined to answer. She also asked what the difference was between the first and second sets of information the Secretary of State provided to the feds.

“You’re not in a court case right now, and I’m asking a simple question,” Caferro said.

James again said he needed to refrain from sharing details, and Rep. Sherry Essmann, a Billings Republican, said she wanted to know why he was tight lipped about the information the Secretary of State submitted.

“Why is it such a big secret what you submitted to the federal government? That’s what I want to know,” Essmann said.

James said the DOJ is the top law enforcement agency in the country, and the information is confidential.

At the meeting, James also addressed spending on the postcard and billboard.

He said the reason there was a gap between when he started analyzing how to pay for the postcard and a final decision on payment is he had to take a leave because his then-pregnant wife was hospitalized.

James said federal funds were used as the postcards are “core HAVA material,” or Help America Vote Act material. For the billboard, James confirmed enterprise funds were used, or revenue from agency services that fill its operating budget.

Although legislators and James were at odds during the meeting, Sen. Becky Beard, an Elliston Republican, said the conversation demonstrated that Montanans have a heightened interest in the election process.

“I’m also grateful that people are putting on a hierarchy here the integrity and security of our elections process,” Beard said.