Montana Secretary of State

	Montana Secretary of State
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$101,718
Term limits:	Two terms in a 16 year period
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Montana Constitution, Article VI, Section 1 the Executive Department
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder(s)
	Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen; Republican Party; Assumed office: January 4, 2021
	Elections
Next election:	November 7, 2028
Last election:	November 5, 2024
	Other Montana Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Public Instruction • Agriculture Director • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Director • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission

The Secretary of State for Montana is one of the elected constitutional officers of executive branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The secretary of state is the keeper of the Montana state seal, and also serves on the Montana Board of Land Commissioners, which administers school trust lands.^[1]

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

Current officeholder

The current Montana Secretary of State is Christi Jacobsen (R). Jacobsen assumed office in 2021.

Authority

The state Constitution addresses the office of secretary of state in Article VI, the Executive Department.

Under this title:

The executive branch includes a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state...

Qualifications

A candidate for secretary of state must:

be at least 25 years of age or older at the time of election.
be a citizen of the United States.
have resided within the state at least two years at his election.^[2]

Elections

See also: States with gubernatorial term limits, State legislatures with term limits

Article VI of the Montana State Constitution stipulates that the secretary of state is a publicly elected official who serves a term of four years.

Term limits

Term limits for the secretary of state are defined in Article IV, Section 8 of the Montana Constitution, which disqualifies any candidate for secretary of state who has served in the office for more than eight years in any given 16 year period.

Montana Constitution, Article IV, Section 8:

(1) The secretary of state or other authorized official shall not certify a candidate's nomination or election to, or print or cause to be printed on any ballot the name of a candidate for, one of the following offices if, at the end of the current term of that office, the candidate will have served in that office or had he not resigned or been recalled would have served in that office:

(a) 8 or more years in any 16-year period as governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, attorney general, or superintendent of public instruction;
(b) 8 or more years in any 16-year period as a state representative;
(c) 8 or more years in any 16-year period as a state senator;
(d) 6 or more years in any 12-year period as a member of the U.S. house of representatives; and
(e) 12 or more years in any 24-year period as a member of the U.S. senate.
(2) When computing time served for purposes of subsection (1), the provisions of subsection (1) do not apply to time served in terms that end during or prior to January 1993.
(3) Nothing contained herein shall preclude an otherwise qualified candidate from being certified as nominated or elected by virtue of write-in votes cast for said candidate.

2024

See also: Montana Secretary of State election, 2024

General election

General election for Montana Secretary of State

Incumbent Christi Jacobsen defeated Jesse James Mullen and John Lamb in the general election for Montana Secretary of State on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Christi Jacobsen (R)	61.4	364,319
	Jesse James Mullen (D)	35.5	210,651
	John Lamb (L)	3.1	18,500

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 593,470
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Montana Secretary of State

Jesse James Mullen advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana Secretary of State on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jesse James Mullen	100.0	93,063

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 93,063
= 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.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Montana Secretary of State

Incumbent Christi Jacobsen advanced from the Republican primary for Montana Secretary of State on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christi Jacobsen	100.0	165,405

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 165,405
= 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 primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. John Lamb advanced from the Libertarian primary for Montana Secretary of State.