Since his election, he has modernized the Office of the Secretary of State by bringing more services online, enhanced Kentucky’s election laws through several legislative packages, and revived the civic mission of schools in Kentucky by leading the effort to restore civics education in the classroom.

Secretary Grayson has been recognized as one of the top young leaders in the United States.  In 2005, he was selected for the inaugural class of the Aspen-Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership which recognizes the nation’s "emerging leaders”.  In 2004, The Council of State Governments selected him to participate in the prestigious Toll Fellowship Program, and United Leaders recognized him as a “Rising Star” in the Republican Party.

Secretary Grayson is currently serving in a variety of leadership capacities, most notably as chairman of the Republican Association of Secretaries of State and as chairman of the National Association of Secretaries of State’s (NASS) Elections committee.  A former vice-chairman of NASS's committee on voter participation, Grayson also serves on NASS’s standing committee on business services and subcommittee on presidential primaries. 

In 2004, Grayson became a member of the Senior Advisory Committee to Harvard University's Institute of Politics, serving alongside political notables such as Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and Senator Edward Kennedy.  Grayson also serves on a variety of advisory boards to several national, election-related organizations including Just Democracy and HelpingAmericansVote.org.

In his first two years, Secretary Grayson has received accolades for a number of accomplishments.  During his tenure Grayson has:

• Led the effort to increase the civic literacy and engagement of Kentucky’s citizens – a movement that has been recognized as a national model; and
• Launched several new online election services including the Voter Information Center, which allows Kentuckians to check their voter registrations and obtain other specific information pertinent voters, and the Election Security Seals program, a first in the nation program that protects voters from fraudulent campaign websites; and
• Led the successful effort to update Kentucky’s election laws including a repeal of taxpayer funded gubernatorial campaigns in the Commonwealth and the establishment of a 300 foot electioneering-free buffer zone around the polls.   He has also led Kentucky’s successful implementation of the Help America Vote Act into Kentucky’s election administration; and
• Re-designed the Office of the Secretary of State’s website to include a variety of new online services including: translation into six new languages, the Governor’s Executive Journal, Enacted Legislation, additional Land Grant documents, and a summonses tracking service.  The site was recognized as one of the top government websites in the country after its completion; and
• Placed thousands of business documents online, including popular documents such as the Certificate of Existence and the Certificate of Authorization.  In addition, started placing images of all documents online in real time as they are filed; and
• Led a number of other initiatives including: the release of a study on female elected officials in the Commonwealth which contained valuable information to empower the next generation of female leaders to run for office, the establishment of the Cradle to College Commission with Treasurer Jonathan Miller to explore unique ways of funding higher education, and the execution of the National Student/Parent Mock Election in Kentucky; and

A product of the Kenton County public school system, Secretary Grayson was inducted into the Kentucky Association for Academic Competition Hall of Fame for his achievements in the Governor’s Cup and other academic competitions at Dixie Heights High School.  Grayson was a 1989 Governor’s Scholar and later served as President of the Program’s Alumni Association.

Secretary Grayson graduated with honors from Harvard College (A.B., Government, 1994) and from the University of Kentucky (J.D. 1998, M.B.A., 1998) where he was one of the first Kentucky MBA scholars and one of the first two Bert Combs Scholars, the College of Law’s top scholarship.  Prior to his election, he was an attorney with Greenebaum Doll & McDonald and Keating, Muething & Klekamp, where he focused on estate planning and corporate law.

Secretary Grayson has served on the boards of a number of non-profit organizations, including the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program, the Commonwealth Fund for KET, the Kentucky Symphony, the Kentucky Advocates for Higher Education, and the ConnectKentucky steering committee.  Most recently he was named by Governor Ernie Fletcher to the Kentucky Workforce Investment Board.  He is a 2002 graduate of Leadership Kentucky and a 2000 graduate of Leadership Northern Kentucky.  He is also a founding member of Legacy, a young professional organization in Northern Kentucky.

In Kentucky, some of his notable honors include his selection as one of forty-four “Kentucky Leaders for the New Century” by the Kentucky Press Association and the Shakertown Roundtable, and as a 2005 Outstanding Young Kentuckian by the Kentucky Jaycees.

Secretary Grayson is a fifth generation Kentuckian and lifelong resident of Northern Kentucky.  With his election, Grayson became the first Northern Kentuckian to be elected to an existing statewide constitutional office since 1919. 

Grayson is married to the former Nancy Humphrey of Lexington.  Mrs. Grayson currently serves a number of statewide and community organizations including the Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission, the Northern Kentucky Montessori Center, and the Family Nurturing Center, an organization dedicated to ending the cycle of child abuse. 

The Graysons currently reside in Boone County with their two daughters, Alex and Kate.

Web Site: http://sos.ky.gov/