Joan Growe

Joan Ruth Anderson Growe (born September 28, 1935) is an American politician who served as Secretary of State of Minnesota from 1975 to 1999. Known for her work to encourage voter participation, Growe had the second-longest tenure of any secretary of state in Minnesota history, at 24 years. In 1984, she ran for the US Senate against the Republican incumbent, Rudy Boschwitz, losing the election with 41% of the vote.

Growe was raised in Buffalo, Minnesota, and graduated from Buffalo High School and St. Cloud State University. 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.

From 1973 to 1974, Growe was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives representing the old District 40A, which included parts of Hopkins, Minnetonka and St. Louis Park in Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metro area. In the House, she served on the Crime Prevention and Corrections, Education, Judiciary, and Metropolitan and Urban Affairs Committees. alt=Portrait of Representative Joan R. Growe, 1973-1974 Legislative Session, Minnesota Legislature Representative Joan R. Growe, 1973-1974 Legislative Session, Minnesota Legislature 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 served as an official election observer in various foreign elections. She is also on the advisory committee for the University of Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.

The Joan Growe Award for Distinguished Commitment to Expanding Access to Democracy and Justice in Minnesota, named in her honor, has been given annually since 2012.

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