North Dakota Secretary of State

	North Dakota Secretary of State
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$112,241
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
	North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe; Republican Party; Assumed office: January 1, 2023
	Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 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

The North Dakota Secretary of State is an elected state executive position in the North Dakota state government. The secretary 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 Republican triplex. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

Current officeholder

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

Authority

The secretary's authority is derived from Article V, Section 2 of the North 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 the North 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, the governor 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]

2022

See also: North Dakota Secretary of State election, 2022

General election

General election for North Dakota Secretary of State

Michael Howe defeated Jeffrey Powell and Charles Tuttle 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 no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 233,828
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for North Dakota Secretary of State

Jeffrey Powell 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 no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 21,954
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for North Dakota Secretary of State

Michael Howe defeated Marvin Lepp 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 no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 66,233
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.