About the Office

About the Secretary of State

Michael Howe
North Dakota Secretary of State

Michael Howe has deep North Dakota roots. He is a fifth-generation farmer and is actively involved in operation of their seed farm near Casselton with his family. 

Michael’s connection to agriculture took him to North Dakota State University, and later to Washington DC where he served as agriculture policy director for North Dakota Congressman Rick Berg. After a stint in DC, he returned to North Dakota to continue policy work for the North Dakota Corn Growers Association. In 2014, he returned to the family farm and served on the Board of Directors for the North Dakota Grain Growers Association. 

Michael and his wife, Katie, married a year before he became North Dakota’s 15^th Secretary of State on January 1, 2023. They and their black lab, Cannon, greatly enjoy exploring the beauty of North Dakota.

Michael served rural Cass County in the North Dakota Legislature for six-years as State Representative from District 22, prior to becoming Secretary of State. In his second legislative session, he was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee and served as chairman of the interim Government Finance Committee.

Michael is actively involved in the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), and currently serves as the Midwestern Region Vice-President on the Executive Board. He is a member of the NASS Elections, Cybersecurity, and Business Services committees and previously served as co-chair of the NASS Business Services Committee.

As North Dakota Secretary of State, he also serves on the following state boards: Board of University and School Lands, Emergency Commission, State Historical Board, State Canvassing Board, Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award.

About the Office

We are North Dakota’s starting point for democracy and transparency. 
We serve, guide, and engage citizens, through elections, business and official records. 

• The Office of the Secretary of State conducts a wide range of licensing, regulatory, registration, and administrative functions. We are the office of record for certain legal documents generated by the executive and legislative branches of state government, as well as public records and notices involving various business. 
• The Office of the Secretary of State is your trusted source for election information, and along with North Dakota’s 53 counties, works to administer and protect the integrity of our election process. Statewide election results are made available through our elections site - Vote.ND.Gov. 
• As keeper of the Great Seal of the State of North Dakota, the Secretary certifies the authenticity of official documents, such as acts of the Legislature, and proclamations and executive orders issued by the governor. The office is also the keeper of the original chapter laws passed each legislative session and signed by the various officers of the Legislature, such as the president of the Senate, speaker of the House, chief clerk of the House, and secretary of the Senate, as well as the secretary of state and (in most cases) the governor.