John Robert "Jay" Ashcroft (born July 12, 1973) is an American attorney, engineer and politician serving as the 40th and current Secretary of State of Missouri since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he is the son of former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. As Missouri Secretary of State, Ashcroft pushed for stricter voter identification laws, meant to prevent voter fraud and supported an investigation into Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley.