For immediate release:                  May 6, 2021

Contact:                                          JoDonn Chaney, Acting Communications Director

                                                       (573) 526-0949

Ashcroft Applauds Employees for Perseverance Through Pandemic, Uninterrupted Service to People of Missouri

Jefferson City, Mo. — As other state employees are set to return to full in-person work on May 17, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft thanked his staff of over 200 employees for their perseverance and the uninterrupted service to Missourians they’ve provided throughout the pandemic. In praising their diligent efforts, Secretary Ashcroft echoed the words of former President Harry Truman: “America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”

“I’m exceedingly grateful to this staff for their incredible responsiveness, flexibility and dedication throughout all the challenges presented by the pandemic,” Ashcroft said. “The office only partially closed for a brief period — time in which we implemented safety precautions and crafted new procedures to ensure the safe return of our employees and the public. For over a year now, my office has been fully staffed and working hard to provide our services to Missourians in a safe and efficient manner.”

Over the course of the pandemic, the office’s Elections Division administered five successful elections. This work included holding safe, physically-distanced candidate filing, implementing temporary changes to the state’s election laws, and helping local election authorities alter their polling places to ensure the health and safety of voters. As part of this effort, Secretary Ashcroft visited Missouri’s 116 county clerks and election boards to deliver safety supplies for poll workers over a two-week period in May 2020.

Through the entirety of the pandemic, the Business Services Division, which oversees filings for every business in Missouri, continued to provide its services by answering thousands of calls — over 2,800 per week — as they helped Missourians navigate the process of owning or starting a business.

Other divisions within the office, such as the State Archives, the State Library, Wolfner Library, the Securities Division and more, adapted to provide their services in new ways. They focused on providing services both digitally, through an increase in webinars and online meetings, as well as continuing to serve the public in person through appointment visits.

“Over the course of this past year, the employees of this office have excelled in the face of hardship,” Ashcroft said. “I want to thank my employees for a great job, for staying the course, for getting the job done. Thank you!”

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Visit www.sos.mo.gov to learn more about the Office of the Missouri Secretary of State.