“You know you’re hardcore on voter integrity when, on July 5th, you’re at the Ahern Hotel all day doing voter integrity,” Steve Bannon said on his podcast last week when he introduced his guest, the prominent anti-voting activist Matt Meck.
Meck joined Bannon to plug a day-long election integrity conference in Las Vegas over the holiday weekend that featured a cavalcade of notable election deniers and conspiracy theorists: Arizona state Sen. Mark Finchem; Peter Ticktin, lawyer for convicted election denier Tina Peters; Jan. 6 rioter Treniss Evans; former GOP congressman Curt Weldon, and, of course, Bannon, who gave the keynote address.
The conference, which Meck dubbed “Election Singularity: Proactive Prevention by We The People,” also featured a virtual conversation with three Republican secretaries of state: Chuck Gray of Wyoming, Denny Hoskins of Missouri, and Kris Warner of West Virginia. Meck told Bannon the secretaries would talk about their midterm preparations in light of Trump’s anti-voting executive order — hinting that there may be more election-related orders to come.
The event wasn’t recorded or livestreamed anywhere — the only way to hear what was discussed was to be in Vegas on Fourth of July weekend and pay the $20 entry fee.
So I reached out to the offices of each of the secretaries to ask for more information about their remarks.
Diane Nester, a spokesperson from Warner’s office, said that he “didn’t speak from a prepared speech” and explained that it was just more of a Q&A session with the three secretaries of state, but didn’t elaborate any more than that.
Rachael Dunn, the director of communications for Hoskins’ office, told me that Hoskins’ participation “was a last minute addition to his calendar.” She added that she would be “happy to pass along any questions” I had about his appearance at the conference. I asked her if there are any specifics about midterm election preparations — particularly as they related to Trump’s executive order — that were discussed at the conference. I’m still waiting for a reply.
Gray’s office didn’t respond to my inquiry.
Secretaries of state are the top election officials in their respective states, elected to administer fair and free elections — and ensure that the voting process is protected from all sorts of threats, from cybersecurity attacks to disinformation campaigns. For three secretaries of state to speak at an election integrity conference organized by conspiracy theorists and election deniers, without their remarks being available for their constituents to watch or hear is a huge problem.
What did they talk about in regard to their plans for the upcoming midterm elections? Numerous parts of Trump’s anti-voting executive order are currently blocked by the courts. Do they plan to implement the order anyway? What do they see as the biggest voting issues in their respective states, and how do they plan to address them? Numerous studies and reports consistently show that instances of voter fraud are extremely rare, yet the speakers at the conference peddle in disproven conspiracy theories that claim otherwise. Do they agree?
Of course, we’ve already learned a lot about what these elected officials believe. Hoskins wants to hand count all ballots, and ban dropboxes, mail voting, and absentee voting. And Gray has called the 2020 election “clearly rigged.” (Warner has been more measured.)
But that only makes it more important that we know what they’re telling election conspiracy theorists in private. So to our readers in Missouri, Wyoming, and West Virginia: Why not try asking them yourselves? Let us know what you find out!
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