NASS officially selects Grayson as president-elect

Secretary of State Trey Grayson Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R-Richwood) officially became the president-elect of the National Association of Secretaries of State this morning, meaning he will assume the duties of president of that organization in 2009.

As reported by PolitickerKY.com last week, Grayson faced no opposition in his candidacy for the position, and his succession to the office was all but official until this morning.

"I'm excited," said Grayson this afternoon. "It was nice hearing it even though I knew it was coming."

In an interview this morning, Grayson said his candidacy was warmly received among the attendees at this weekend's NASS summer conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Prior to his election to the new position, Grayson served as NASS' treasurer and co-chaired a committee on presidential primaries - an area which Grayson says the NASS is pushing to reform.

In recent months, Grayson has pushed a "rotating regional primary" plan in testimony before Congress, and he is preparing to lobby for changes in the presidential primary system before the Republican National Committee's forthcoming rules committee meetings. He said his work in this arena was particularly lauded by those secretaries of state in attendance at the convention.

"They are really looking forward to working with me," said Grayson.

Per NASS procedure, the presidency of the organization alternates between a Democrat and a Republican.

Pennsylvania's Pedro Cortes, a Democrat, will succeed Indiana's Todd Rokita as the organization's president this year. Grayson will move into the presidency role after the NASS summer conference in 2009.

Grayson told PolitickerKY.com he expects a "step up in work" even before he assumes the presidency, as the role of the president-elect has its own defined duties within NASS.

Though he believes he can conduct a good deal of NASS business in Kentucky, Grayson says there will be considerable legislation on the federal level concerning changes in electoral law - a principal focus of those holding secretaries of state positions. As head of the professional organization for these elected officials, Grayson says he will likely testify before the House and Senate in the future concerning these proposed changes.

With that in mind, Grayson says the NASS will be able to cover "many of the expenses" related to expenses connected to his position as head of their organization, though Kentucky will foot some of the bills.

Grayson says the state already allocates some funds for travel to conferences held by NASS and other organizations, and notes all expenditures by his office will be visible on a newly created website.

He contends that the NASS expenditures are a "good use of funds" and noting that, as the first Kentuckian to hold the organization's presidency, he will give the state a presence in forthcoming debates and discussions on electoral law.

"This is an important opportunity for Kentucky to be at the table when decisions are made," said Grayson.