Colorado Secretary of State

	Colorado Secretary of State
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$102,000
2025 FY Budget:	$46,513,310
Term limits:	2 consecutive terms
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Colorado Constitution, Article IV, Section 1
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder(s)
	Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold; Democratic Party; Assumed office: January 8, 2019
	Elections
Next election:	2026
Last election:	2022
	Other Colorado Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Controller • Commissioner of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Exec. Director • Labor Executive Director • Public Utilities Commission • Colorado State Board of Regents

The Colorado Secretary of State is an elected constitutional officer in Colorado's state government. Elected every four years, the secretary of state manage's the state's elections, administers campaign finance laws, and oversees the registration of Colorado businesses, notaries, charities, and trade names.

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

Current officeholder[edit]

The current Colorado Secretary of State is Jena Griswold (D). Griswold assumed office in 2019.

Authority[edit]

The state Constitution establishes the office of secretary of state in Article IV, the Executive Department.

Colorado Constitution, Article IV, Section 1

(1) The executive department shall include the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, and attorney general, each of whom shall hold his office for the term of four years, commencing on the second Tuesday of January in the year 1967, and each fourth year thereafter. They shall perform such duties as are prescribed by this constitution or by law.

Qualifications[edit]

To serve as secretary of state, a person must:

Be at least 25 years old
Be a U.S. citizen
Been a resident of Colorado for at least two years.

Colorado Constitution, Article IV, Section 4

No person shall be eligible to the office of... attorney general unless he shall have attained the age of twentyfive years and be a licensed attorney of the supreme court of the state in good standing, and no person shall be eligible to any one of said offices unless, in addition to the qualifications above prescribed therefore, he shall be a citizen of the United States, and have resided within the limits of the state two years next preceding his election.

Elections[edit]

Secretaries of state are elected to four-year terms during federal midterm election years (2018, 2022, 2026, etc.). The candidate that earns a plurality of the votes is the winner, and, per Article IV, Section 1 of the state Constitution, assumes office on the second Tuesday of January in the year following the election.

Colorado Constitution, Article IV, Section 1

(1) The executive department shall include the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, and attorney general, each of whom shall hold his office for the term of four years, commencing on the second Tuesday of January in the year 1967, and each fourth year thereafter.

Term limits[edit]

Per the Colorado Term Limits Amendment, Issue 5 (1990), secretaries of state, like all statewide constitutional officers, are limited to two consecutive terms in office. Former officeholders may run again after one term out of office. Serving more than one half of a term as an appointed replacement counts as a full term for the purpose of term limits.^[1]

Colorado Constitution, Article IV, Section 1-2:

In order to broaden the opportunities for public service and to guard against excessive concentrations of power, no governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, or attorney general shall serve more than two consecutive terms in such office. This limitation on the number of terms shall apply to terms of office beginning on or after January 1, 1991. Any person who succeeds to the office of governor or is appointed or elected to fill a vacancy in one of the other offices named in this section, and who serves at least one half of a term of office, shall be considered to have served a term in that office for purposes of this subsection (2). Terms are considered consecutive unless they are at least four years apart.

Election results[edit]

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

General election

The primary will occur on June 30, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

General election for Colorado Secretary of State

Celeste Landry (Colorado Forward Party) and Melissa Richards (Unaffiliated) are running in the general election for Colorado Secretary of State on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Celeste Landry (Colorado Forward Party)
	Submit photo	Melissa Richards (Unaffiliated)

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Colorado Secretary of State

Jessie Danielson (D) and Amanda Gonzalez (D) are running in the Democratic primary for Colorado Secretary of State on June 30, 2026.

		Candidate
		Jessie Danielson
		Amanda Gonzalez

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State

James McKinzie (R), Cory Parella (R), Ross Taraborelli (R), and James Wiley (R) are running in the Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State on June 30, 2026.

		Candidate
		James McKinzie
		Cory Parella
	Submit photo	Ross Taraborelli
		James Wiley

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.