Washington Secretary of State

Washington Secretary of State
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$134,640
2024-25 FY Budget:	$143,561,000
Term limits:	None
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Washington Constitution, Article 3, Section 2
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs Democratic Party Assumed office: November 22, 2021
Elections
Next election:	November 7, 2028
Last election:	November 5, 2024
Other Washington Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner• Natural Resources Commissioner• Labor Commissioner• Public Service Commissioner

The Secretary of State for Washington is a public elected executive state governmental official in Washington. The officeholder is the state's chief elections officer, chief corporations officer, and supervisor of the State Archives. The Secretary of State is charged with overseeing parts of the state's ballot initiative process.

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

Current officeholder

The current Washington Secretary of State is Steve Hobbs (D). Hobbs assumed office in 2021.

Authority

Article 3 of the state constitution establishes the state's executive offices.

Article III, Section 2:

Executive Department. The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, and a commissioner of public lands, who shall be severally chosen by the qualified electors of the state at the same time and place of voting as for the members of the legislature.

Qualifications

Article 3, Section 25 of the state constitution establishes the qualifications of the office:

• a citizen of the United States
• a qualified elector in Washington

Qualifications, Compensation, Offices Which May Be Abolished. No person, except a citizen of the United States and a qualified elector of this state, shall be eligible to hold any state office...

Elections

Washington state government organizational chart as of 2022

In Washington, the secretary of state is elected every four years. Elections are held in November and the winner assumes office the following January, serving until a successor is elected and qualified.

2024

See also: Washington Secretary of State election, 2024

General election

General election for Washington Secretary of State

Incumbent Steve Hobbs defeated Dale Whitaker in the general election for Washington Secretary of State on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steve Hobbs (D)	59.6	1,519,809
		Dale Whitaker (R)	40.3	1,029,220
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	2,301

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 2,551,330
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington Secretary of State

Incumbent Steve Hobbs and Dale Whitaker defeated Marquez Tiggs and Damon Townsend in the primary for Washington Secretary of State on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steve Hobbs (D)	48.4	930,533
✔		Dale Whitaker (R)	36.9	709,046
		Marquez Tiggs (D)	9.7	185,628
		Damon Townsend (No Labels​ Party)	5.0	96,586
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,534

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,923,327
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Phil Fortunato (R)

2022

See also: Washington Secretary of State election, 2022

Washington held a special election for secretary of state on November 8, 2022. The primary was scheduled for August 2, 2022. The filing deadline was May 20, 2022.

General election

Special general election for Washington Secretary of State

Incumbent Steve Hobbs defeated Julie Anderson and Brad Klippert in the special general election for Washington Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steve Hobbs (D)	49.8	1,468,521
		Julie Anderson (Independent)	45.8	1,351,926
		Brad Klippert (R) (Write-in)	0.0	0
		Other/Write-in votes	4.4	129,933

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,950,380
= 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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Nonpartisan primary election

Special nonpartisan primary for Washington Secretary of State

The following candidates ran in the special primary for Washington Secretary of State on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steve Hobbs (D)	39.9	747,993
✔		Julie Anderson (Independent)	12.8	240,035
		Keith Wagoner (R)	12.2	227,842
		Bob Hagglund (R)	12.0	225,633
		Mark Miloscia (R)	10.0	187,774
		Marquez Tiggs (D)	7.9	148,716
		Tamborine Borrelli (America First Republican Party)	4.6	86,748
		Kurtis Engle (Union Party)	0.4	6,887
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,499

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,873,127
= 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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2020

See also: Washington Secretary of State election, 2020

General election

General election for Washington Secretary of State

Incumbent Kim Wyman defeated Gael Tarleton in the general election for Washington Secretary of State on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kim Wyman (R)	53.6	2,116,141
		Gael Tarleton (D)	46.3	1,826,710
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	4,666

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,947,517
= 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.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington Secretary of State

Incumbent Kim Wyman and Gael Tarleton defeated Ed Minger and Gentry Lange in the primary for Washington Secretary of State on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kim Wyman (R)	50.9	1,238,455
✔		Gael Tarleton (D)	43.3	1,053,584
		Ed Minger (Independent)	3.6	87,982
		Gentry Lange (Progressive Party of Washington State)	2.1	51,826
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,919

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,433,766
= 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.

2016

See also: Washington Secretary of State election, 2016

The general election for secretary of state was held on November 8, 2016.

Incumbent Kim Wyman defeated Tina Podlodowski in the Washington secretary of state election.

Washington Secretary of State, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Kim Wyman Incumbent	54.74%	1,713,004
	Democratic	Tina Podlodowski	45.26%	1,416,299
Total Votes				3,129,303
Source: Washington Secretary of State

Full history

To view the electoral history dating back to 2000 for the office of Washington Secretary of State, click [show] to expand the section.

2012 See also: Washington secretary of state election, 2012 Incumbent Sam Reed chose not to run for re-election in 2012. Kim Wyman (R) won the open seat in the general election on November 6, 2012. 2012 General Election for Washington Secretary of State Washington Secretary of State General Election, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Kim Wyman 50.4% 1,464,741      Democratic Kathleen Drew 49.6% 1,442,868 Total Votes 2,907,609 Election results via Washington Secretary of State 2008 On November 4, 2008, Sam Reed won re-election to the office of Washington Secretary of State. He defeated Jason Osgood (D) in the general election. Washington Secretary of State, 2008 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Sam Reed Incumbent 60.8% 1,718,033      Democratic Jason Osgood 39.2% 1,107,634 Total Votes 2,825,667 Election results via Washington Secretary of State. 2004 On November 2, 2004, Sam Reed won re-election to the office of Washington Secretary of State. He defeated Laura Ruderman (D) and Jacqueline Passey (L) in the general election. Washington Secretary of State, 2004 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Sam Reed Incumbent 51.5% 1,369,421      Democratic Laura Ruderman 45.4% 1,209,299      Libertarian Jacqueline Passey 3.1% 82,097 Total Votes 2,660,817 Election results via Washington Secretary of State. 2000 On November 7, 2000, Sam Reed won election to the office of Washington Secretary of State. He defeated Don L. Bonker (D), J. Bradley Gibson (L) and Curtis Loftis (RFM) in the general election. Washington Secretary of State, 2000 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Sam Reed 81.1% 1,073,911      Democratic Don L. Bonker 8% 106,369      Libertarian J. Bradley Gibson 7.1% 94,202      RFM Curtis Loftis 3.7% 49,417 Total Votes 1,323,899 Election results via Washington Secretary of State.

Term limits

There are no term limits for this office.

Vacancies

Article 3, Section 13 of the state constitution establishes the vacancy procedures for this office. In the event of a vacancy, the governor fills the vacancy by appointment. The term of the appointee expires when a successor has been elected.

When, during a recess of the legislature, a vacancy shall happen in any office, the appointment to which is vested in the legislature, or when at any time a vacancy shall have occurred in any other state office, for the filling of which vacancy no provision is made elsewhere in this Constitution, the governor shall fill such vacancy by appointment, which shall expire when a successor shall have been elected and qualified.

Duties

As of January 2021, the stated duties of the office included:

“

Responsibilities of the Secretary of State include: Supervising state and local elections, and certifying the results of state primaries and general elections. Filing and verifying initiatives and referendums. Producing and distributing the state voters pamphlet and election-notice legal advertising. Registering private corporations, limited partnerships and trademarks. Registering individuals, organizations and commercial fundraisers involved in charitable solicitations. Administering the state's Address Confidentiality Program for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. Collecting and preserving the historical records of the state, and making those records available for research. Coordinating implementation of the state's records management laws. Serving as chairman of the state Productivity Board. Affixing the State Seal and attesting to commissions, pardons, and other documents to which the signature of the Governor is required. Regulating use of the State Seal. Filing or attesting to official acts of the Legislature and Governor. Certifying to the Legislature all matters legally required to be certified. In addition to these constitutional and statutory duties, the Secretary of State is frequently called upon to represent the state of Washington in international trade and cultural missions, and to greet and confer with dignitaries and delegations visiting the state of Washington from other countries.

”

Divisions

As of January 29, 2021, divisions and programs within the secretary's office included:

• Address Confidentiality Program
• Apostilles
• Archives
• Charities
• Combined Fund Drive
• Corporations
• Elections & Voting
• Legacy Washington
• Library
• Medals of Merit & Valor
• PSRW
• State Flag
• State Seal
• Trademarks

State budget

See also: Washington state budget and finances

The budget for the Secretary of State's Office in Fiscal Year 2024-2025 was $143,561,000.

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

The secretary of state's salary is addressed in Article III, Section 17 of the Washington Constitution. The constitution initially set the annual salary of the secretary of state at $2,500 but provided for the amount to be raised to a maximum of $3,000 at the discretion of the Washington State Legislature. Since 1986, the secretary of state's salary is determined by the Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials.

In 1948, the voters approved SJR 4, creating Article 28, Section 1, which authorized the state legislature to establish the compensation received by all elected state officials. Several changes to the procedure, including three more constitutional amendments, followed, including House Joint Resolution 49. Approved by voters in the 1986 general election, HJR 49 created the Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials, the independent salary-setting authority that took over the legislature's responsibility of setting the salaries of elected officials across the three branches of the Washington state government.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $134,640, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the secretary of state received a salary of $134,640, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the secretary of state received a salary of $130,560 according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the secretary of state received a salary of $124,108 according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the secretary of state received a salary of $122,880 according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the secretary of state received a salary of $121,663 according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the secretary of state received a salary of $120,459 according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the secretary of state received a salary of $116,950 according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the secretary was paid an estimated $116,950 according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the secretary was paid an estimated $116,950 according to the Council of State Governments.

2012

In 2012, the secretary was paid an estimated $116,950 according to the Council of State Governments.

2010

In 2010, the secretary was paid an estimated $116,950 according to the Council of State Governments.

Historical officeholders

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the Washington Secretary of State has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

• Kim Wyman, 2013-2021

Contact information

Physical address:
Washington Secretary of State
Legislative Building
PO Box 40220
Olympia, WA 98504-0220

External links

Suggest a link

• Washington Secretary of State