This week's question was, How many states have a secretary of state?

You answered: 49.
The correct answer was 47.

The secretary of state is a state-level position in 47 of the 50 states. The position does not exist in Alaska, Hawaii and Utah. In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia, the office is called the secretary of the commonwealth and differs only in name. The voters directly elect the secretary of state in 35 states. In the other 12, the secretary is appointed by either the governor or the state legislature.

In 1977, the Democratic Party held a total of 25 elected secretary of state offices to the Republican Party's 10. The Democratic lead in secretary of state offices narrowed somewhat throughout the 1980s, but once again reached a 25-10 majority of elected offices in 1989 and 1990. Following the 1994 midterm elections, the Republican Party gained an 18-17 majority of elected secretary of state offices. The Democrats would regain their lead following the 2008 presidential election but lose it once again in the 2010 midterm elections. The gap between the parties widened following the 2016 elections, which increased the Republican majority of elected secretary of state offices from 21-14 to 24-11. Democrats picked up 3 net seats in the 2018 elections, and North Dakota incumbent Secretary of State Al Jaeger won re-election as an independent, leaving Republicans with a 20-14 majority. One seat switched from Democrat to Republican in the 2019 elections, one switched from Republican to Democrat in 2020, and Jaeger returned to identifying as a Republican, which returned the margin of elected secretaries of state to 21-14 in favor of Republicans. Democrats gained one elected secretary of state office in the 2022 elections, leaving Republicans with a 20-15 majority.

Thanks for your response!