Michigan Secretary of State

The Michigan Department of State is a principal executive department of the government of Michigan. It is responsible for administering elections, regulating notaries public, and maintaining records of statutes and the Great Seal of Michigan. It also serves as the state's department of motor vehicles, administering motor vehicle registration and licensing automobile drivers.

The department is led by the secretary of state of Michigan, a constitutional executive officer elected on a partisan ballot every four years alongside gubernatorial elections. The office is currently held by Jocelyn Benson of the Democratic Party, first elected in 2018. As the name implies, the officeholder was originally responsible for much of state government, but now the duties are similar to those of the other 46 secretaries of states across the United States. The secretary of state is the third-highest elected official in Michigan, and serves as acting governor in the absence of the governor and lieutenant governor.

Under state law, the secretary of state must have at least one office in each of Michigan's 83 counties.