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North Dakota Secretary of State

From Ballotpedia

North Dakota Secretary of State

General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$114,486
2023-25 FY Budget:	$24,874,199
Term limits:	None
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Article V, Section 2
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder(s)
North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe Republican Party Assumed office: January 1, 2023
Elections
Next election:	2026
Last election:	2022
Other North Dakota Executive Offices
Governor •Lieutenant Governor •Secretary of State •Attorney General •Treasurer •Auditor •Superintendent of Education •Agriculture Commissioner •Insurance Commissioner •Natural Resources Commissioner •Labor Commissioner •Public Service Commission •Tax Commissioner

TheNorth Dakota Secretary of State is an elected state executive position in theNorth Dakota state government. Thesecretary of state is the chief election officer in the state, and is responsible for licensing business and maintaining a central indexing system. The office maintains the Great Seal of North Dakota.^[1]

The secretary serves a four-year term and is popularly elected in the midterm elections, that is, even years that are not presidential election years.^[2]

North Dakota has a Republicantriplex. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

Current officeholder

The current North Dakota Secretary of State isMichael Howe (R). Howe assumed office in 2023.

Authority

The secretary's authority is derived fromArticle V, Section 2 of theNorth Dakota Constitution.

Article V, Section 2:

The qualified electors of the state at the times and places of choosing members of the legislative assembly shall choose a governor, lieutenant governor, agriculture commissioner, attorney general, auditor, insurance commissioner, three public service commissioners, secretary of state, superintendent of public instruction, tax commissioner, and treasurer. ...^[2]

Qualifications

Article V, Section 4 of theNorth Dakota Constitution establishes the qualifications of the office:

To be eligible to hold an elective office established by this article, a person must be a qualified elector of this state, must be at least twenty-five years of age on the day of the election, and must have been a resident of this state for the five years preceding election to office. ...^[2]

Qualified North Dakota voter
At least 25 years old
A resident of North Dakota for at least five years preceding the election

Vacancies

Article V, Section 8 addresses vacancies in state executive offices. In the event of a vacancy, thegovernor appoints a successor. Once appointed, the individual serves the remainder of the unexpired term.^[2] If a vacancy occurs within 95 days before a regularly-scheduled election for the position, the office must remain vacant.^[3]

Elections

The secretary of state in North Dakota is popularly elected every four years, in midterm elections. For North Dakota, 2022, 2026, and 2030 are all secretary of state election years. The term of office is four years.^[2]

Election results

There are noofficial candidates yet for this election.

General election

General election for North Dakota Secretary of State

Michael Howe (R) defeatedJeffrey Powell (D) andCharles Tuttle (Independent) in the general election for North Dakota Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Michael Howe (R)	63.2	147,816
	Jeffrey Powell (D)	27.5	64,254
	Charles Tuttle (Independent)	9.2	21,517
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1%	241

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 233,828
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for North Dakota Secretary of State

Jeffrey Powell (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for North Dakota Secretary of State on June 14, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jeffrey Powell	99.7	21,897
	Other/Write-in votes	0.3%	57

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 21,954
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Republican primary

Republican primary for North Dakota Secretary of State

Michael Howe (R) defeatedMarvin Lepp (R) in the Republican primary for North Dakota Secretary of State on June 14, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Michael Howe	67.6	44,790
	Marvin Lepp	32.1	21,280
	Other/Write-in votes	0.2%	163

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 66,233
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