Joan Ruth Anderson Growe (born September 28, 1935) is an American politician who served as Secretary of State of

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

from 1975 to 1999. Known for her work to encourage voter participation, her 24-year tenure was the second longest of any secretary of state in Minnesota's history. In 1984, she unsuccessfully challenged Republican

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Rudy Boschwitz Rudolph Ely “Rudy” Boschwitz (born November 7, 1930) is an American politician and businessman from the state of Minnesota. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the United States Senate from 1978 to 1991. From 1987 to ...

, losing the election with 41% of the vote. Growe was raised in

Buffalo, Minnesota Buffalo is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Wright County, Minnesota, Wright County. It is in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, about 42 miles northwest of Minneapolis on Buffalo Lake (Wright County, Mi ...

and graduated from Buffalo High School and

St. Cloud State University St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is a public university in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1869, the university is one of the largest institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. In the fall of 2023, it ...

. On August 18, 1956, she married James E. Kerr in Buffalo. That marriage ended in divorce. On June 16, 1965, she married Glen Harry Growe in

Anoka County, Minnesota Anoka County ( ) is the List of counties in Minnesota, fourth-most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 363,887. The county seat and namesak ...

. Before running for secretary of state, Growe was a member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

from 1973 to 1974, representing the old District 40A, which included portions of

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,281,565, and was estimated to be 1,273,334 in 2024, making it the List of counties in ...

in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

metro area. While in the House, she served on the Crime Prevention and Corrections, the Education, the Judiciary, and the Metropolitan and Urban Affairs committees. As a state legislator, Growe supported the Minnesota same-day voter registration law (the first in the country) and later, as Secretary of State, she worked to implement it. Since then, Minnesota has consistently had the highest voter turnout in the United States. Growe is widely recognized as an expert on voting and elections, and has been selected to serve as an official election observer in various foreign elections. She is also on the advisory committee for the

Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs The Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs is a public policy and planning school at the University of Minnesota, a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is named after Hube ...

at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Records

Files documenting the Growe's activities as secretary of state are available for research use. They include general and chronological correspondence, telephone logs, appearances, subject files, voter education and elections files, and State Board of Investment files.Joan Growe Files
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References

External links

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* ttp://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/16/midday1/ Minnesota Public Radio: Joan Growe – Trailblazing woman in Minnesota politics * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Growe, Joan 1935 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives People from Buffalo, Minnesota Politicians from Minneapolis Secretaries of state of Minnesota St. Cloud State University alumni University of Minnesota alumni Women state legislators in Minnesota 21st-century American women 20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature 20th-century American women politicians