ɪnðɪ ᵻvˈɛnt əvə vˈeɪkənsi ɪnðɪ ˈɑːfɪs ʌvðə sˈɛkɹətɹi ʌv stˈeɪt, ðə ɡˈʌvɚnɚ mˈeɪ ɐpˈɔɪnt ɐ ɹᵻplˈeɪsmənt tə sˈɜːv ðə bˈæləns ʌvðə tˈɜːm; ðɪs hɐz əkˈɜːd θɹˈiː tˈaɪmz: əpˌɑːn ðə dˈɛθ ʌv fɹˈɛd ˈɑːɹ. zˈɪmɚmən, lˈuːi ˈæliz wʌz ɐpˈɔɪntᵻd tə fˈɪl ðə ɹᵻmˈeɪndɚɹ ʌvðə tˈɜːm, ɡlˈɛn wˈaɪz wʌz ɐpˈɔɪntᵻd tə fˈɪl ðɪ ɛntˈaɪɚɹ ʌvðə nˈɛkst tˈɜːm tʊ wˌɪtʃ zˈɪmɚmən hɐdbɪn ᵻlˈɛktᵻd, ænd əpˌɑːn ðə ɹᵻtˈaɪɚmənt ʌv dˈʌɡləz lˌæ fəlˈɛt, sˈɛɹə ɡˈɑːdəlwski wʌz ɐpˈɔɪntᵻd tə fˈɪl ðə ɹᵻmˈeɪndɚɹ ʌvðə tˈɜːm , dʒˈænjuːˌɛɹi tˈuː θˈaʊzənd twˈɛnti sˈɛvən.
In the event of a vacancy in the office of the Secretary of State, the Governor may appoint a replacement to serve the balance of the term; this has occurred three times: upon the death of Fred R. Zimmerman, Louis Allis was appointed to fill the remainder of the term, Glenn Wise was appointed to fill the entire of the next term to which Zimmerman had been elected, and upon the retirement of Douglas La Follette, Sarah Godlewski was appointed to fill the remainder of the term , January 2027.