NASS Names Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon as President and Inducts New Executive Board

For Immediate Release
July 12, 2024

San Juan, Puerto Rico — Steve Simon, Minnesota’s 22nd Secretary of State, has been chosen to lead the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) as President. He was sworn in today, Friday, July 12, at the conclusion of the 107th NASS Summer Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1904, NASS is the nation’s oldest nonpartisan professional organiza­tion for public officials.

“I am honored and deeply grateful to my peers across the country for giving me the opportunity to spearhead this outstanding association, particularly at such a critical time for our democracy,” said Simon. “As I’ve said time and time again, I will work with anyone, of any political affiliation, to pro­tect, defend, and strengthen elections. I also want to enable NASS member states to make busi­ness services as effective and efficient as possible and to foster connections among our mem­bers relating to all other duties and responsibilities of Secretaries of State nationwide. I look for­ward to continuing NASS’s historic tradition of collaboration, unity, and bipartisanship.”

Simon has served as Secretary of State since January 2015. During his tenure, he has been an engaged, proactive member of NASS, with participation on the NASS Executive Board and oth­er committees, as well as serving on the Election Infrastructure Subsector Government Coordi­nating Council (EIS-GCC) and Council of State Governments (CSG) Executive Committee.

Throughout this important work, he has been a champion of continuously advancing election security and interacting with the business community on a variety of timely and emerging is­sues. Simon previously served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives and as an Assistant Attorney General for Minnesota.

His presidential term will conclude at the NASS 2025 Summer Conference. As a point of histori­cal interest, Simon is the sixth Minnesotan to serve in this prestigious role.

Additionally, the following members were sworn in to serve on the NASS Executive Board:

- President: Hon. Steve Simon, Minnesota
- Immediate Past President: Hon. Scott Schwab, Kansas
- President-elect: Hon. Michael Watson, Mississippi
- Treasurer: Hon. Steve Hobbs, Washington
- Secretary: Hon. Stephanie Thomas, Connecticut
- Eastern Region Vice-President: Hon. Shenna Bellows, Maine
- Southern Region Vice-President: Hon. Nancy Landry, Louisiana
- Midwestern Region Vice-President: Hon. Michael Howe, North Dakota 
- Western Region Vice-President: Hon. Maggie Toulouse Oliver, New Mexico
- Member-at-Large (NPA Section): Hon. Sarah Copeland Hanzas, Vermont 
- Member-at-Large (ACR Section): Hon. Robert Evnen, Nebraska

Executive Board members will also serve until the conclusion of the NASS 2025 Summer Con­ference.

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Media Contact:
Maria Benson, Senior Director of Communications
mbenson@nass.org | 202-624-3528 | www.nass.org