Missouri Secretary of State candidates

Secretary of State

According to the official Missouri State website, the Secretary of State and the rest of their office are in charge of the state’s public records. In Missouri, the Secretary of State is also in charge of organizing state elections, which includes presidential, General Assembly and amendment votes. For college students, the Secretary of State publishes a list of regulations surrounding student aid every year on the official Missouri State website. Stephen Terrill | Sports Editor | @Stevethe2nd

Jay Ashcroft

Republican Jay Ashcroft is running as the incumbent Secretary of State in Missouri.

According to Ballotpedia, Ashcroft has served as the Secretary of State since 2017. This was his first political position.

Prior to his political career, Ashcroft received a bachelors and masters degree in engineering management from Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla and his Juris Doctor from St. Louis University.

Before taking office, Ashcroft worked with his father at Ashcroft Law Firm. As stated on his campaign website, he learned a lot during his time as a lawyer.

“I’ve seen firsthand how too much bureaucracy and over-regulation can make it nearly impossible for small businesses to even get started, let alone thrive,”the website stated.

Ashcroft’s campaign website includes a page about making a state-issued voter ID a requirement to vote in Missouri. According to the official Missouri State website, currently things like driver’s licenses, school IDs or a bank statement are acceptable forms of ID to present at polls. Those without any form of identification can cast a provisional ballot that can be verified by bringing a photo ID at a later date or a signature that matches the voter’s registration card.

Ashcroft was recently endorsed by the Missouri Farm Bureau.

More information about Jay Ashcroft can be found at ashcroftformissouri.com

Yinka Faleti

Yinka Faleti is the Democratic challenger running for Secretary of State.

According to Faleti’s campaign website, he was born in Lagos, Nigeria before immigrating to America at the age of seven. He graduated from United States Military Academy West Point after high school and attained the rank of Captain as an officer in a tank unit in the Middle East in the early 2000s.

According to Ballotpedia, after his time in the Middle East, Faleti graduated from law school at Washington University in St. Louis. He was a prosecutor for the Circuit Attorney’s Office in St. Louis, director of fundraising for United Way of Greater St. Louis and executive director of Forward Through Ferguson. Forward Through Ferguson is a non-profit organization established to address issues in minority communities in the time after the death of Michael Brown in 2014.

Faleti’s campaign website lists healthcare, preserving safe and accessible elections and removing bureaucracy surrounding small businesses as issues he would address as Secretary of State.

Faleti is endorsed by Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and the editorial board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

More information about Yinka Faleti can be found at yinkafaleti.com