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Michigan Secretary of State election, 2026
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| Michigan Secretary of State |
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| General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: April 21, 2026 |
| Primary: August 4, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
7 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
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Michigan is holding an election for secretary of state on November 3, 2026.
To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.
Candidates and election results
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for Michigan Secretary of State
Barbara Byrum, Aghogho Edevbie, Adam Hollier, and Timothy Smith are running in the general election for Michigan Secretary of State on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Barbara Byrum (D) | |
 | Aghogho Edevbie (D) | |
 | Adam Hollier (D) | |
 | Timothy Smith (R)  | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "Timothy Smith isn’t a career politician – he’s a devoted husband, proud father of two, and a hardworking American who understands what real life looks like for everyday Michigan families. Timothy works 50 to 60 hours a week at Gentex, an automotive manufacturing company in Zeeland, Michigan. His wife, who immigrated to the United States from Cambodia in 2006, fuels his deep appreciation for the American Dream and his determination to protect it for future generations. Timothy is the proud father of two children, one of whom was born completely deaf and has taught him more about resilience and strength than he could ever have imagined. Through every challenge, Timothy and his family have leaned on faith, grit, and perseverance. And while Timothy has never lost hope in the promise of America, he’s seen firsthand how the system often fails the very people who work the hardest and ask for the least. That’s why he’s stepping forward—not for power, but for purpose. Timothy is running for Secretary of State to restore honesty, integrity, and accountability to Michigan government and to ensure every Michigander’s voice is truly heard."
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
Survey responses from candidates in this race
Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
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Timothy Smith (R)
If elected, Timothy Smith will implement mandatory audits of Michigan’s voter registration database every July. These audits will focus on outdated, duplicate, or fraudulent entries, with special attention given to ensuring that deceased individuals are promptly removed.
By proactively cleaning the rolls each year, Timothy aims to prevent issues before they arise. He believes election integrity should be proactive—not political.
Timothy plans to create a single source of voter roll data from voter start to voter finish. Timothy believes that by starting at the precinct level, Michigan gets the truest and purest form of vote data.
That data will be mirrored to the county and then state level using the same system same platform and same numbers to ensure we have a clean single source of data from voter start to voter finish.
Immediate Removal of Deceased Voters from the Rolls
Timothy believes that once a death certificate is submitted to the county clerk, the individual should be automatically and immediately removed from Michigan’s voter rolls.
He sees this as a basic safeguard that would strengthen public confidence in the integrity of elections and reduce the potential for misuse. According to Timothy, the system should reflect the living, active voters of Michigan—nothing more, nothing less.
Timothy Smith (R)
He also believes annual voter roll audits are essential to maintain a clean and accurate voter roll year round.
Timothy also believes that by creating a Discovery committee he can investigate how the voting system got so broken and most importantly fix the issue to ensure it never happens again.
Timothy Smith (R)
Timothy Smith (R)
You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Michigan
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Past elections
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.
2022
General election
General election for Michigan Secretary of State
Incumbent Jocelyn Benson defeated Kristina Karamo, Gregory Stempfle, Christine Schwartz, and Larry Hutchinson Jr. in the general election for Michigan Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jocelyn Benson (D) | 55.9 | 2,467,859 |
 | Kristina Karamo (R) | 41.9 | 1,852,510 | |
 | Gregory Stempfle (L) | 1.2 | 52,982 | |
 | Christine Schwartz (U.S. Taxpayers Party) | 0.6 | 27,937 | |
 | Larry Hutchinson Jr. (G) | 0.4 | 16,615 | |
| Total votes: 4,417,903 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic convention
Democratic convention for Michigan Secretary of State
Incumbent Jocelyn Benson advanced from the Democratic convention for Michigan Secretary of State on August 21, 2022.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Jocelyn Benson (D) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican convention
Republican convention for Michigan Secretary of State
Kristina Karamo defeated Cindy Berry, Beau LaFave, and Cathleen Postmus in the Republican convention for Michigan Secretary of State on August 27, 2022.
Candidate | ||
| Cindy Berry (R) | ||
| ✔ | | Kristina Karamo (R) |
 | Beau LaFave (R) | |
| Cathleen Postmus (R) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Green convention
Green convention for Michigan Secretary of State
Larry Hutchinson Jr. advanced from the Green convention for Michigan Secretary of State on April 23, 2022.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Larry Hutchinson Jr. (G) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Libertarian convention
Libertarian convention for Michigan Secretary of State
Gregory Stempfle advanced from the Libertarian convention for Michigan Secretary of State on July 10, 2022.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Gregory Stempfle (L) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
U.S. Taxpayers Party convention
U.S. Taxpayers Party convention for Michigan Secretary of State
Christine Schwartz advanced from the U.S. Taxpayers Party convention for Michigan Secretary of State on July 23, 2022.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Christine Schwartz (U.S. Taxpayers Party) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Michigan Secretary of State
Jocelyn Benson defeated Mary Treder Lang, Gregory Scott Stemple, and Robert Gale in the general election for Michigan Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jocelyn Benson (D) | 52.9 | 2,213,243 |
 | Mary Treder Lang (R) | 44.0 | 1,840,118 | |
| Gregory Scott Stemple (L) | 2.0 | 81,849 | ||
| Robert Gale (U.S. Taxpayers Party) | 1.2 | 48,816 | ||
| Total votes: 4,184,026 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
| Secretary of State of Michigan, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Ruth Johnson Incumbent |
53.5% | 1,649,047 | |
| Democratic | Godfrey Dillard | 42.9% | 1,323,004 | |
| Libertarian | James Lewis | 2% | 61,112 | |
| U.S. Taxpayer | Robert Gale | 1.1% | 34,447 | |
| Natural Law | Jason Gatties | 0.4% | 13,185 | |
| Total Votes | 3,080,795 | |||
| Election results via Michigan Department of State | ||||
Election analysis
This section will contain facts and figures related to this state's elections when those are available.
Secretary of State elections in 2026
There are 26 secretary of state seats on the ballot in 2026.
See also
| Michigan | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
Footnotes
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