JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, looking back on last year, published a list of major accomplishments his office completed in 2023.
For the seventh consecutive year, Ashcroft reached his goal of visiting all 114 Missouri counties and the city of St. Louis. The secretary met with county clerks and other local election officials, visited schools, toured libraries, and met with business owners and farmers. “I enjoy visiting every county – McDonald to Clark, Atchison to Pemiscot. This gives me the opportunity to listen to Missourians about ways we can make our state even better,” Ashcroft said.
The secretary of state’s office encompasses several divisions including: Administrative Rules, Archives, Business Services, Elections, Securities, and the State Library.
Last year, the Administrative Rules Division – helped over 150 state agencies through the rule-making process while answering questions from the public pertaining to specific rules. The department processed 1,522 filings for rule making and other items for publication in the Missouri Register. Over 4,000 pages of updates were published in the Code of State Regulations.
The Business Services Division – which handles the creation and maintenance of all business entities doing business in Missouri – completed 518,492 business filings with 74% filed online. The Safe at Home program ended the year with an enrollment of over 3,600 and has served 9,359 adults and children since its inception in August 2007.
The Elections Division participated in several cyber security table top exercises across the state with local election authorities (LEAs) and other local, state and federal partners. To keep our voter rolls clean, monthly voter list maintenance reports to LEAs continued to be a top priority. As well, the division provided training to all 42 new LEAs and their staffs on the statewide voter registration database.
The Records Services Division, which includes the state archives, records management, and local records, processed over 12.3 million requests through the archives’ website and 62,862 physical records requests. 611 volunteers, both online and in-person, indexed an additional 158,972 records.
The State Library Division awarded 150 grants to libraries totaling over $2 million. Across the state 135 libraries held a summer library program with just under 250,000 children participating. Over 1 million items were shared between libraries via courier. The Wolfner Talking Book and Braille Library circulated 725,271 items to patrons and celebrates their 100th anniversary in 2024.
The Securities Division – which seeks to protect Missouri investors – has over 50 open investigations and closed out an additional 49 throughout 2023. The division recovered and sent back to aggrieved investors over $539,900. Over $1.3 million in restitution was collected for the Investor Education and Protection fund.
“The secretary of state’s office, through all of its divisions, works hard to make sure Missourians are well taken care of,” Ashcroft said. “2023 was a great year. I appreciate the hard work and tenacity of the SOS staff for a job well-done.”