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Alabama Secretary of State
| Alabama Secretary of State | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Office Type: | Partisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| 2013 FY Budget: | $7,360,797 |
| Term limits: | 2 terms |
| Structure | |
| Length of term: | 4 years |
| Authority: | Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 112 |
| Selection Method: | Elected |
| Current Officeholder | |
 | |
| Name: | Beth Chapman |
| Officeholder Party: | Republican |
| Assumed office: | 2007 |
| Compensation: | $79,580 |
| Elections | |
| Next election: | November 4, 2014 |
| Last election: | November 2, 2010 |
| Other Alabama Executive Offices | |
| Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission | |
Contents |
Current officeholder
Beth Chapman, a Republican[1], is the current and 51st Alabama Secretary of State. She was first elected in November 2006, having previously served four years as state auditor. Her second term will end on January 19, 2015, at which time she will be barred from seeking office again due to constitutional term limits.
Chapman also served as appointments secretary for Governor Fob James and press secretary for Lt. Governor Steve Windom.[2]
Authority
The secretary of state's authority derives from Article V, Section 112 of the Alabama Constitution.
Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 112
| The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, commissioner of agriculture and industries, and a sheriff for each county. |
Qualifications
Qualifications for the office of secretary of state are described in Article V, Section 132 of the state constitution. Candidates for the office must have been a citizen of the United States for seven years, a resident of Alabama for five years, and at least 25 years of age.
Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 132
| No person shall be eligible to the office of attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, or commissioner of agriculture and industries unless he shall have been a citizen of the United States at least seven years, and shall have resided in this state at least five years next preceding his election, and shall be at least twenty-five years old when elected. |
Elections
Per Section 114 of the state constitution, Alabama elects its secretaries of state during federal midterm election years (e.g. 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018). Section 116 sets the secretary of state's inauguration for the first Monday after the second Tuesday in the January following an election. Thus, January 17, 2011 and January 19, 2015 are inaugural days.
Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 114
| The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, and commissioner of agriculture and industries shall be elected by the qualified electors of the state at the same time and places appointed for the election of members of the legislature in the year nineteen hundred and two, and in every fourth year thereafter. |
Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 116
| The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, commissioner of agriculture and industries, elected after the ratification of this Constitution, shall hold their respective offices for the term of four years from the first Monday after the second Tuesday in January next succeeding their election, and until their successors shall be elected and qualified. |
Term limits
Per Amendment 282 to Article V, Section 116 of the Alabama Constitution, secretaries of state are limited to two terms in office.[3]
Vacancies
Article V, Section 136 of the Alabama Constitution requires the governor to appoint a replacement if the office of secretary of state becomes vacant or if the incumbent "shall become of unsound mind." The replacement serves until the next scheduled election.
Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 136
| Should the office of attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, or commissioner of agriculture and industries become vacant from any cause, the governor shall fill such vacancy until the disability is removed or a successor elected and qualified. In case any of said officers shall become of unsound mind, such unsoundness shall be ascertained by the supreme court upon the suggestion of the governor. |
Duties
The Alabama Constitution directs the secretary of state to keep the great seal of the state, "authenticate therewith all official acts of the governor, resolutions, appointments to office and administrative orders." Besides officially recording the governor's acts, state law gives the secretary of state "more than 1,000 different duties... virtually all of them [involving] processing and filing documents that are public records."[4] These records include business registrations, legislative acts, land records, campaign finance records, trademarks and others. The secretary also certifies notaries public and civil law notaries.
Additionally, the secretary of state is the state's chief election officer and responsible for running and recording the results of all state elections.
Divisions
The secretary of state's office includes three main sections: Elections, Business Services and Administrative Services.[5]
Elections
The Elections division supervises state elections, registers candidates and voters, publishes results and performs related tasks.
| Contact Elections | |||
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Business Services
The Business Services section includes three individual divisions: Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), Business Entities, and Trademarks. Those three divisions are responsible for registering Alabama businesses and foreign corporations operating in Alabama.
| Contact Business Services | |||
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Administrative Services
The Administrative Services division supervises the authentication of official documents, athlete agents, notaries public and civil law notaries.
| Contact Business Services | |||
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State budget
The budget for the Secretary of State's Office in Fiscal Year 2012-2013 was $7,360,797.[6]
Compensation
- See also: Compensation of state executive officers
In 2012, the Alabama Secretary of State was paid an estimated $85,248. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.
Alabama Constitution, Article V, Section 118 of the state constitution requires that changes in compensation take effect in the term after they were passed.
Alabama Constitution, Article V, Section 118
| The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, and commissioner of agriculture and industries, shall receive compensation to be fixed by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which they shall have been elected, and shall, except the lieutenant governor, reside at the state capital during the time they continue in office, except during epidemics. |
Former officeholders
| Alabama Secretaries of State 1818-present[7] | |||
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Contact Information
Mailing address:
PO Box 5616
Montgomery, AL 36103-5616
Phone: (334) 242-7200
Fax: (334) 242-4993
See also
- Beth Chapman
- Governor of Alabama
- Lieutenant Governor of Alabama
- Attorney General of Alabama
- Alabama Constitution
External links
References
- ↑ Project VoteSmart, "Bio of Beth Chapman," accessed May 23, 2011.
- ↑ Office of the Alabama Secretary of State, "Beth Chapman," accessed May 23, 2011.
- ↑ Constitution of Alabama, "Amendment 282 to Section 116," accessed June 1, 2011.
- ↑ Office of the Alabama Secretary of State, "Office of the Secretary," accessed May 23, 2011.
- ↑ Office of the Alabama Secretary of State, "Contact Us," accessed July 6, 2011.
- ↑ Alabama Government Website "State of Alabama General Fund, 2013 FY Appropriations," Accessed March 29, 2013
- ↑ Office of the SoS, "History", accessed February 7, 2012
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