Oregon Secretary of State

	Oregon Secretary of State
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$77,000
2023-25 FY Budget:	$112,516,622
Term limits:	8 years in a 12 year period
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Oregon Constitution, Article VI, Section 1
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade; Democratic Party; Assumed office: June 30, 2023
	Elections
Next election:	November 7, 2028
Last election:	November 5, 2024
	Other Oregon Executive Offices
	Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission

The Secretary of State of Oregon is an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of the Oregon state government and is first in line of succession to the governor. The secretary of state serves as the auditor of public accounts, chief elections officer, and administrator of public records.^[1]

Oregon has a Democratic triplex. The Democratic Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

Current officeholder

The current Oregon Secretary of State is LaVonne Griffin-Valade (D). Griffin-Valade assumed office in 2023.

Authority

The office of the Oregon Secretary of State is established in Article VI, Section 1 of the Oregon Constitution.

Article VI, Section 1:

There shall be elected by the qualified electors of the State, at the times and places of choosing Members of the Legislative Assembly, a Secretary, and Treasurer of State, who shall severally hold their offices for the term of four years; but no person shall be eligible to either of said offices more than Eight in any period of Twelve years.^[2]

Qualifications

There are no specific qualifications for this office.

Vacancies

Article 5, Section 16 of the state Constitution outlines how vacancies in the office are to be filled. The governor fills any vacancy by appointment that expires when a successor has been elected and qualified.^[3]

The Oregon Constitution requires the governor to appoint a successor from the same political party as the predecessor. An appointed secretary of state is also ineligible to ascend to the governor's office in case of gubernatorial vacancy.^[4]

Duties

Article 6, Section 2 of the state Constitution requires that the secretary of state keep a fair record of the official acts of both the legislative assembly and the executive department of the state.^[5]

The official duties of the office are outlined in Chapter 177 of the Oregon Statutes:^[6]

Keep a record of the official acts of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services and, when required, lay the same and all matters relative thereto before each branch of the legislature.
Affix the seal of the state to, and countersign all commissions and other official acts issued or done by the Governor, approbation by the Governor of the laws excepted, and make a register of such commissions, specifying to whom given or granted, the office conferred, with the date and tenor of the commission, in a book to be provided for that purpose.
Be charged with the safekeeping of all enrolled laws and resolutions and not permit them to be taken out of the office or inspected, except in the presence of the Secretary of State, unless by order of the Governor, or by resolution of one or both houses of the legislature, under penalty of $100.
Keep the office open during business hours at all times, Sundays excepted.

Elections

Oregon state government organizational chart

The secretary of state is elected every four years in presidential election years.

2024

See also: Oregon Secretary of State election, 2024

General election

General election for Oregon Secretary of State

Tobias Read defeated Dennis Linthicum and Nathalie Paravicini in the general election for Oregon Secretary of State on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tobias Read (D / Working Families Party / Independent Party)	53.9	957,592
	Dennis Linthicum (R / Constitution Party)	43.0	763,648
	Nathalie Paravicini (Pacific Green Party / Progressive Party)	3.1	54,248
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,764

	There were no incumbents in this race. Source	Total votes: 1,777,252
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Oregon Secretary of State

Tobias Read defeated James Manning, Jim Crary, Paul Damian Wells, and Dave Stauffer in the Democratic primary for Oregon Secretary of State on May 21, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tobias Read	69.4	303,089
	James Manning	22.3	97,427
	Jim Crary	3.7	16,340
	Paul Damian Wells	2.2	9,425
	Dave Stauffer	1.8	7,921
	Other/Write-in votes	0.6	2,515

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 436,717
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Oregon Secretary of State

Dennis Linthicum defeated Brent Barker and Tim McCloud in the Republican primary for Oregon Secretary of State on May 21, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Dennis Linthicum	66.0	199,243
	Brent Barker	20.2	61,011
	Tim McCloud	13.0	39,109
	Other/Write-in votes	0.8	2,560

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 301,923
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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