Michael Howe
Howe in 2023
Secretary of State of North Dakota
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2023
Governor	Doug Burgum Kelly Armstrong
Preceded by	Alvin Jaeger
Member of theNorth Dakota House of Representatives from the 22nd district
In office December 1, 2016 – November 9, 2022
Preceded by	Wesley Belter
Succeeded by	Jonathan Warrey
Personal details
Born	(1986-09-20)September 20, 1986 (age 39)
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Katie Ralston
Education	North Dakota State University (BS)

Michael Howe (born September 20, 1986)^[1] is an American politician serving as theNorth Dakota Secretary of State. Elected in November 2022, he assumed office on January 1, 2023.

Michael Howe was born September 20, 1986.^[2] Howe earned a Bachelor of Science degree in broadcast journalism and mass communication fromNorth Dakota State University in 2010.^[2]

In 2011 and 2012, Howe served as a legislative correspondent and legislative assistant for CongressmanRick Berg. He also served as an agricultural policy advisor to Berg.^[3] In 2013, he was the director of legislative affairs and communications director for the North Dakota Corn Growers Association.

Howe was the campaign manager ofKelly Armstrong's successful2018 campaign to represent North Dakota in theU.S. House of Representatives.^[1]

Howe was elected to theNorth Dakota House of Representatives in2016 and assumed office on December 1, 2016. Howe served as a member of the House Water Topics Overview Committee.^[4]

After winning election to be the Secretary of State, Howe resigned from the House on November 9, 2022. Local Republicans appointedJonathan Warrey to the fill Howe's vacancy.^[5]

In January 2022, Howe declared his candidacy forNorth Dakota secretary of state in that yearsmidterm elections^[6] as the incumbent secretary,Alvin Jaeger, opted to retire after seven terms in office.^[7] Howe defeated rancher Marvin Lepp in the republican primary and went on to beatuniversity administrator andDemocratic-NPL nominee Jeffrey Powell andindependent candidate Charles Tuttle in the general election.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Howe's office has launched numerous efforts to get easier access for elections tonew U.S. citizens.^[12]

In September 2023, Howe defended a ban onballot measures led by individuals and groups from outside of North Dakota, which was primarily for a measure that would've setterm limits forcongressional members in the state.^[13]

In November 2023, Howe andNorth Dakota Attorney GeneralDrew Wrigley appealed a ruling by district judgePeter Welte that forced the state to redraw itslegislative districts ahead of the2024 elections that forced the state to give theSpirit Lake Tribe andTurtle Mountain Indian Reservation their own specific district.^[14][15][16] The appeal was heard by the8th Circuit Court of Appeals,^[17] and the court ruled in favor of the state the next year, which under the ruling would mean only theUnited States Department of Justice could bringVoting Rights Act lawsuits, which would negate the lawsuit by theNAACP that forced the new districts in North Dakota.^[18][19] However, theUnited States Supreme Court paused the ruling in 2025 and as of July is pending review by the court.^{[20][21][22][23][24][25]}

In May 2024, Howe was critical of a bill in congress that would have tightened ID checking for voting to protect againstillegal immigrants and noncitizens from voting, stating that the bill would force North Dakota into doingvoter registration and that the state already has protections against it.^[26]

Howe's wife, Katie Ralston Howe, is theFormer Miss North Dakota^[27] and served asGovernorDoug Burgum's Workforce Development director, she continues to hold the position into the gubernatorial term ofKelly Armstrong.^[28][29]

• Living people
• Republican Party members of the North Dakota House of Representatives
• North Dakota State University alumni
• Secretaries of state of North Dakota
• 21st-century members of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly
• 1986 births

• CS1 maint: others
• CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from February 2022
• Date of birth not in Wikidata