Chris Thomas retired from the Michigan Department of State in 2017 after 40 years of election administration service, which included 36 years as Michigan’s Director of Elections. Thomas worked for Democratic and Republican Secretaries of State.
Prior to joining the Michigan Department of State, Thomas worked for the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Federal Election Commission on campaign finance disclosure from 1974–1977.
Since 2020, Thomas has served as a Senior Advisor to Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey to assist the clerk and management staff on election law procedures with focus on processing the increase in mail ballots.
He served as a Fellow with the Bipartisan Policy Center from 2017 to 2024. He is a board member of the MIT Election Data and Science Lab and the U.S. Vote Foundation. Thomas participated in drafting legislation to implement Proposal 2, an amendment to the Michigan Constitution adopted by the voters in 2022.
While employed by the Michigan Secretary of State, Thomas administered Michigan’s election law, campaign finance act, and lobbyist disclosure act and served as Secretary to Board of State Canvassers.
In 2013, President Barack Obama appointed Thomas as a Commissioner on the Presidential Commission on Election Administration, which made recommendations to improve the election day experience of America’s voters.
Thomas is a founding member of the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) and was elected NASED President in 1997 and again in 2013.
Thomas earned a B.A. in Political Science from Michigan State University, a M.A. in Urban Affairs from St. Louis University in St. Louis, MO, and a J.D. from Thomas Cooley Law School in Lansing.