JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – For 2022, the Missouri Secretary of State’s office issued a listing of highlights and accomplishments pertaining to Secretary Jay Ashcroft and the divisions within his office which include: Administrative Rules, Business Services, Elections, Securities, State Archives, and State Library.
Among the highlights, Ashcroft was pleased to implement legislation that included photo ID (HB 1878) to strengthen Missouri elections, propelling Missouri as a leader in election integrity. As well, Ashcroft fought to protect Missouri from government overreach by going to Washington DC in support of an amicus brief regarding Moore v. Harper and limiting intrusive access by the Department of Justice. In December, Ashcroft participated in the annual Hunt Institute Legislative Retreat on Education that he was responsible for bringing to Missouri in 2019.
For the sixth consecutive year, Ashcroft reached his goal of visiting all 114 counties in Missouri. The secretary met with county clerks, local officials and law enforcement, visited schools, toured libraries, and met with business owners and farmers.
“From Atchison to Pemiscot, McDonald to Clark, Missouri is a beautiful state. I love visiting every corner and talking with Missourians about ways to make the state even better – that’s the best part of my job,” said Ashcroft.
In 2022, the Administrative Rules Division updated the publishing formats for both the Missouri Register and the Code of State Regulations. The new formats, utilizing easier-to-read fonts and column adjustments make the publications, including the online version, more user friendly.
The Business Services Division completed 509,425 business filings, 172,557 uniform commercial code (UCC) filings and processed 11,875 new notary applications and 11,748 notary renewal applications for 2022. Staff throughout the state handled over 135,000 calls pertaining to corporations, notary and UCC.
In February 2022, the Elections Division registered 495 candidates for the primary election. The division conducted and certified the statewide primary and general elections. As well, the division continued modernizing Missouri’s Centralized Voter Registration System to increase end-user conveniences and streamline efficient processes and updates to support legislation changes. 89 initiative petitions were received and processed, and two were submitted with signatures and one certified to the November ballot. Elections staff assisted over 550 Missouri voters in obtaining information on a free ID for the purpose of voting.
The Securities Division’s Enforcement Section reviewed nearly 200 complaints in 2022. This resulted in 39 new investigations and 16 administrative actions. Many of these actions ordered unlawful business entities and individuals to stop activities that could fraudulently harm unsuspecting Missourians. Additionally, the actions of the division resulted in the collection of $570,167 in restitution, civil penalties and payments into the Secretary of State’s Investor Education and Protection Fund.
The State Archives Division continues to lead the way with records preservation and access, adding an index to Missouri’s 1850 and 1860 Slave Schedules. The archives website was searched 14 million times for genealogical and other historical records, and over 6.6 million images were scanned by records management staff to help make even more records accessible to the public.
The State Library awarded over $3.2 million in federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grants for 194 projects that helped libraries in the state better serve their communities. The reference services department uploaded 5,020 government documents to our online collection of state documents, for a total of 15,357 documents available. 692 state employees registered for their monthly training and informational webinars, 1,305 library cards were issued to state employees, public library directors, and the public, for a total of 4,795 cardholders.
The Wolfner Talking Book and Braille Library, within the State Library, checked out over 700,000 items to Wolfner’s visually-impaired and print-disabled patrons. This is the first time in the Library’s recorded history that this benchmark has been achieved. In 2022, 127 books were produced and uploaded for distribution. This brings the total number of books produced by Wolfner to 1,087.
“The secretary of state’s office, through all of its divisions, works hard to make sure Missourians are served,” Ashcroft said. “2022 was a successful year with many accomplishments. I commend my staff for a job well done.”