North Dakota Secretary of State

Elected office in the US state of North Dakota

North Dakota Secretary of State

Seal of North Dakota

Incumbent
Michael Howe

since January 2023

Term length| 4 years
Formation| 1889
First holder| John Flittie
Website| sos.nd.gov

The North Dakota secretary of state is an elected office in the U.S. state of North Dakota. The incumbent as of 2023[update] was Michael Howe. Duties of the secretary of state include being the custodian of the state's Great Seal and other official state documents, recording the official acts of the governor, distributing copies of legislative resolutions, and recording original bills and resolutions from each biennial Legislative Assembly. Other duties of the office include those pertaining to statewide elections, licensing within the state, and recording trademarks. The secretary of state is second (behind the lieutenant governor) in the line of succession to the office of Governor of North Dakota.[1]

## History

[edit]

From the creation of the office with the state's constitution in 1889, to 2015 there had been 13 secretaries of state, the least number among any of the state offices created in that year. This is attributed to the 34-year tenure of Ben Meier, which as of 2015[update] was the longest of any state-level secretary of state in the US. As of 2015[update] the office had been held by the North Dakota Republican Party at all times except the period 1989 to 1992, when the state's Democratic Party was in office. The secretary of state originally served a two-year term, but this was extended to four in 1964 by a constitutional amendment.

## List of secretaries of state

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The following is a list of secretaries of state of North Dakota.[2]

Secretaries of state by party affiliation  Party  | Secretaries

|

Republican | 14
Democratic-NPL | 1
# | Image | Name | Term | Party

|
|
|
|

1 |  | John Flittie | 1889-1892 | Republican
2 |  | Christian M. Dahl | 1893-1896 | Republican
3 |  | Fred Falley | 1897-1900 | Republican
4 |  | Edward F. Porter | 1901-1906 | Republican
5 |  | Alfred Blaisdell | 1907-1910 | Republican
6 |  | Patrick D. Norton | 1911-1912 | Republican
7 |  | Thomas Hall | 1913-1924 | Republican/NPL
8 |  | Robert Byrne | 1925-1934 | Republican
9 |  | James D. Gronna | 1935-1940 | Republican/NPL
10 |  | Herman Thorson | 1941-1942 | Republican
11 |  | Thomas Hall | 1943-1954 | Republican
12 |  | Ben Meier | 1955-1988 | Republican
13 |  | Jim Kusler | 1989-1992 | Democratic-NPL
14 |  | Alvin Jaeger | 1993-2023 | Republican
15 |  | Michael Howe | 2023-present | Republican

## See also

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* List of company registers

## References

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1. ^ "Constitution of North Dakota" (PDF). North Dakota Legislative Assembly. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
2. ^ North Dakota Secretary of State | About the Secretary of State

## External links

[edit]

* Official website of the North Dakota Secretary of State

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State of North Dakota

Bismarck (capital)

Topics|

* Index
* Climate
* Colleges and universities
* Cuisine
* Delegations
* Geography
* Governors
* History
* bibliography
* Islands
* LGBT history
* Music
* People
* Symbols
* Tourist attractions

Society|

* Abortion
* Culture
* Crime
* Demographics
* Economy
* Education
* Gun laws
* LGBT rights
* Politics

Regions|

* Badlands
* Missouri Coteau
* Drift Prairie
* Red River Valley
* Turtle Mountains

Larger cities
pop. over 5,000|

* Bismarck
* Devils Lake
* Dickinson
* Fargo
* Grand Forks
* Jamestown
* Mandan
* Minot
* Valley City
* Wahpeton
* Watford City
* West Fargo
* Williston

Smaller cities
pop. 1,000–5,000|

* Beach
* Beulah
* Bottineau
* Bowman
* Burlington
* Cando
* Carrington
* Casselton
* Cavalier
* Cooperstown
* Crosby
* Ellendale
* Garrison
* Grafton
* Hankinson
* Harvey
* Hazen
* Hettinger
* Hillsboro
* Horace
* Kenmare
* Langdon
* Larimore
* Lincoln
* Linton
* Lisbon
* Mayville
* New Rockford
* New Town
* Oakes
* Park River
* Rolla
* Rugby
* Stanley
* Thompson
* Tioga
* Velva
* Walhalla
* Washburn
* Watford City
* Wishek

Counties|

* Adams
* Barnes
* Benson
* Billings
* Bottineau
* Bowman
* Burke
* Burleigh
* Cass
* Cavalier
* Dickey
* Divide
* Dunn
* Eddy
* Emmons
* Foster
* Golden Valley
* Grand Forks
* Grant
* Griggs
* Hettinger
* Kidder
* LaMoure
* Logan
* McHenry
* McIntosh
* McKenzie
* McLean
* Mercer
* Morton
* Mountrail
* Nelson
* Oliver
* Pembina
* Pierce
* Ramsey
* Ransom
* Renville
* Richland
* Rolette
* Sargent
* Sheridan
* Sioux
* Slope
* Stark
* Steele
* Stutsman
* Towner
* Traill
* Walsh
* Ward
* Wells
* Williams

North Dakota portal

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Secretaries of state in the United States

▌Wes Allen (R)

▌Nancy Dahlstrom (R)

▌Adrian Fontes (D)

▌John Thurston (R)

▌Shirley Weber (D)

▌Jena Griswold (D)

▌Stephanie Thomas (D)

▌Jeffrey Bullock (D)

▌Cord Byrd (R)

▌Brad Raffensperger (R)

▌Sylvia Luke (D)

▌Phil McGrane (R)

▌Alexi Giannoulias (D)

▌Diego Morales (R)

▌Paul Pate (R)

▌Scott Schwab (R)

▌Michael Adams (R)

▌Nancy Landry (R)

▌Shenna Bellows (D)

▌Susan C. Lee (D)

▌William F. Galvin (D)

▌Jocelyn Benson (D)

▌Steve Simon (DFL)

▌Michael Watson (R)

▌Jay Ashcroft (R)

▌Christi Jacobsen (R)

▌Bob Evnen (R)

▌Cisco Aguilar (D)

▌David Scanlan (R)

▌Tahesha Way (D)

▌Maggie Toulouse Oliver (D)

▌Walter T. Mosley (D)

▌Elaine Marshall (D)

▌Michael Howe (R)

▌Frank LaRose (R)

▌Josh Cockroft (R)

▌LaVonne Griffin-Valade (D)

▌Al Schmidt (R)

▌Gregg Amore (D)

▌Mark Hammond (R)

▌Monae Johnson (R)

▌Tre Hargett (R)

▌Jane Nelson (R)

▌Deidre Henderson (R)

▌Sarah Copeland-Hanzas (D)

▌Kelly Gee* (R)

▌Steve Hobbs (D)

▌Mac Warner (R)

▌Sarah Godlewski (D)

▌Chuck Gray (R)

Federal districts:

▌Kimberly Bassett (D)

Territories:

▌Salo Ale (D)

▌Josh Tenorio (D)

▌Dave Apatang (I)

▌Omar Marrero (PNP)

▌Tregenza Roach (D)

Political party affiliations
28 ▌Republican (28 states)
26 ▌Democratic (22 states, 3 territories, 1 district)
1 ▌Independent (1 territory)
1 ▌New Progressive (1 territory)
Italics indicate no secretary of state in this state, closest equivalent listed
An asterisk (*) indicates that the officeholder is serving in an acting capacity.

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State government of North Dakota

* State Capitol
* North Dakota Constitution
* Coat of Arms
* Flag
* Seal

Executive branch|

* Governor
* Agriculture Commissioner
* Attorney General
* Auditor
* Insurance Commissioner
* Lieutenant Governor
* Secretary of State
* Superintendent of Public Instruction
* Tax Commissioner
* Treasurer
* State Cabinet

Legislative branch|

* Legislative Assembly
* House of Representatives
* Senate

Judicial branch|

* Court System
* Supreme Court
* Court of Appeals
* District Court
* Municipal Courts

Departments and divisions|

* Agriculture
* Career and Technical Education
* Commerce
* Corrections and Rehabilitation
* Emergency Services
* Financial Institutions
* Game and Fish
* Health
* Human Services
* Labor
* Land
* Mineral Resources
* Office of Management and Budget
* Parks and Recreation
* Public Instruction
* Securities
* Seed
* Transportation
* Veterans Affairs

Boards and commissions|

* Board of Higher Education
* Industrial Commission
* Public Service Commission
* Water Commission

Other|

* Bank of North Dakota
* Highway Patrol
* State Library
* State Mill and Elevator
* State Penitentiary
* Vision Services/School for the Blind
* State School for the Deaf
* University System

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