The Secretary of State is the third-ranking official in the U.S. state of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 and one of four great offices of state

Great Offices of State

The Great Offices of State in the United Kingdom are the four most senior and prestigious posts in the British parliamentary system of government. They are the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary. Since 11 May 2010 these posts have been...

. 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 47 secretaries of states

Secretary of State (U.S. state government)

Secretary of State is an official in the state governments of 47 of the 50 states of the United States, as well as Puerto Rico and other U.S. possessions. In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, this official is called the Secretary of the Commonwealth...

 across the United States.

Ruth Johnson

Ruth Johnson

Ruth Johnson is the current Secretary of State of Michigan. She is a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives and the 2006 Republican candidate for lieutenant governor as the running mate of Dick DeVos....

 is the current the secretary of state since January 1, 2011.

In Michigan, the secretary of state is not only responsible for elections, but also oversees vehicle registration

Vehicle registration

Vehicle registration is the compulsory registration of a vehicle with a government authority. Vehicle registration's purpose is to establish clear ownership and to tax motorists or vehicle owners....

 and the licensing of automobile drivers, similar to a motor vehicles regulator

Department of Motor Vehicles

In the United States of America, a Department of Motor Vehicles is a state-level government agency that administers vehicle registration and driver licensing. Similar departments exist in Canada...

 in other states. The officeholder also oversees and regulates notaries public

Notary public

A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...

.

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

Courtesy title

The secretary of state receives the courtesy title of The Honorable (abbreviated to Hon. or Hon'ble) for life.

Michigan Secretaries of State	Term of Service
Kintzing Pritchette	1835–1838
Randolph Manning	1838–1840
Thomas Rowland	1840–1842
Robert P. Eldredge	1842–1846
Gideon O. Whittemore	1846–1848
George W. Peck George Washington Peck George Washington Peck was a United States Representative from the state of Michigan.Peck was born in New York City and pursued classical studies, attending Yale College and studying law in New York City. He moved to Michigan in 1839 and settled in Brighton, where he was admitted to the bar in...	1848–1850
George R. Redfield	1850
Charles H. Taylor	1850–1852
William Graves	1853–1854
John McKinney	1855–1858
Nelson G. Isbell	1859–1860
James B. Porter	1861–1866
Oliver L. Spaulding Oliver L. Spaulding Oliver Lyman Spaulding was a soldier and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.-Biography:Spaulding was born in Jaffrey, New Hampshire. He completed preparatory studies, graduated from Oberlin College of Ohio in 1855, and moved to Michigan where he taught school. He studied law, was...	1867–1870
Daniel Striker	1871–1874
Ebenezer G. D. Holden	1875–1878
William Jenney	1879–1882
Harry A. Conant	1883–1886
Gilbert R. Osmun	1887–1890
Daniel E. Soper	1891
Robert R. Blacker	1891–1892
John W. Jochim	1893–1894
Washington Gardner Washington Gardner Washington Gardner was a lawyer, minister, politician and Civil War veteran from the U.S. state of Michigan.-Biography:...	1894–1898
Justus S. Stearns	1899–1900
Fred M. Warner Fred M. Warner Fred Maltby Warner was an American politician. He served as the 26th Governor of Michigan from 1905 to 1911.-Birth in England and early life in Michigan:...	1901–1904
George A. Prescott	1905–1908
Frederick C. Martindale	1909–1914
Coleman C. Vaughan	1915–1920
Charles J. DeLand	1921–1926
John S. Haggerty	1927–1930
Frank D. Fitzgerald Frank Fitzgerald Frank Dwight Fitzgerald was an American politician. He was elected as the 34th and 36th Governor of Michigan and was the only Michigan governor to die in office.-Early life:...	1931–1934
Clarke W. Brown	1934
Orville E. Atwood	1935–1936
Leon D. Case Leon D. Case -Career:Case was twice a member of the Michigan Senate. First serving from 1913 to 1914, and, after unsuccessfully running in 1928, serving again from 1933 to 1936. In 1936, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan to run on the gubernatorial ticket with...	1937, 1938
Harry F. Kelly Harry Kelly (politician) Harry Francis Kelly was an American politician. He served as the 39th Governor of Michigan from 1943 to 1947.- Early life :...	1939–1942
Herman H. Dignan	1943–1946
Fred M. Alger, Jr.	1947–1952
Owen J. Cleary Owen Cleary Owen Jenks Cleary was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.-Biography:Cleary was born in Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County, Michigan to Patrick Roger Cleary and Helen Cleary, and was married to Marie DeWaele. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I...	1953–1954
James M. Hare James M. Hare James M. Hare was the Michigan Secretary of State.-Biography:Hare was born James McNeil Hare on July 31, 1910 in Racine, Wisconsin. He passed away in 1980. Hare was a Unitarian.-Career:...	1955–1971
Richard H. Austin Richard H. Austin Richard H. Austin was the first African American to hold a state-wide elected position in Michigan. Austin served as the Michigan Secretary of State....	1971-1994
Candice S. Miller	1995-2003
Terri Lynn Land Terri Lynn Land Terri Lynn Land was the 41st secretary of the State of Michigan. Land graduated from Grandville High School, and later received a bachelor of arts in political science from Hope College in Holland, Michigan...	2003-2011
Ruth Johnson Ruth Johnson Ruth Johnson is the current Secretary of State of Michigan. She is a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives and the 2006 Republican candidate for lieutenant governor as the running mate of Dick DeVos....	2011-Present

Source:
Michigan Manual 2003-2004, Chapter IV, Former Officials of Michigan