Christi Jacobsen is an American politician from the state of Montana. A Republican, she is the Secretary of State of Montana.

Early life

Jacobsen was born in

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the capital city of Montana, United States, and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold rush, and established on October 30, 1864. Due to the gold rush, Helena would ...

, and earned her bachelor's degree from

Carroll College Carroll College is a private Catholic college in Helena, Montana. The college has 21 buildings on a 63-acre campus, has over 35 academic majors, participates in 15 NAIA athletic sports, and is home to All Saints Chapel. The college motto, in L ...

in 1997 and a

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

from the University of Montana in 2000.

Career

She served as an administrator for the

Montana State Auditor The Montana State Auditor is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Montana. The State Auditor is elected once every four years, concurrent with the state's gubernatorial election and the U.S. pre ...

's office and the Montana Department of Justice. In 2016, incoming Secretary of State of Montana

Corey Stapleton Corey Stapleton (born September 17, 1967) is an American politician and musician who served as the Secretary of State of Montana from 2017 to 2021. A Republican, he served as a member of the Montana State Senate from 2001 to 2009. In 2020, Stapl ...

announced that Jacobsen would serve as his

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

Montana Secretary of State

With Stapleton not running for reelection as Secretary of State of Montana in the

2020 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...

, Jacobsen announced her candidacy. In the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

primary election, she defeated fellow Republicans

Forrest Mandeville Forrest Mandeville (born April 29, 1984) is an American politician who served in the Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed ...

, Scott Sales, and Brad Johnson. She defeated Bryce Bennett, the Democratic Party nominee, in the general election. Jacobsen was sworn into office on January 4, 2021. Shortly thereafter, she expressed her support for Republican legislation to end same-day voter registration in Montana for all except military and overseas voters. In April 2021, Governor Greg Gianforte signed into law these restrictions; among the new restrictions was the end of same-day voter registration in Montana, as well prevention of university students from using a

student ID A campus credential, more commonly known as a campus card or a campus ID card is an identification document certifying the status of students, faculty, staff or other constituents as members of the institutional community and eligible for access ...

as a

voter ID A voter identification law is a law that requires a person to show some form of identification in order to vote. In some jurisdictions requiring photo IDs, voters who do not have photo ID often must have their identity verified by someone els ...

to vote. The new restrictions also limited ballot collection, which complicated voting in communities where election infrastructure was limited, such as the Native American community in Montana, a Democratic-leaning constituency.

Personal life

Jacobsen and her husband, Eric, have five children.

References

External links

Christi Jacobsen official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobsen, Christi 1970s births Living people 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Carroll College (Montana) alumni Montana Republicans Politicians from Helena, Montana Secretaries of State of Montana University of Montana alumni Year of birth missing (living people)