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Massachusetts Secretary of State
| Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Office Type: | Partisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| Compensation: | $187,433 |
| 2025 FY Budget: | $82,525,199 |
| Term limits: | None |
| Structure | |
| Length of term: | 4 years |
| Authority: | Massachusetts General Laws, Title 2, Chapter 9, Section 1 |
| Selection Method: | Elected |
| Current Officeholder(s) | |
Massachusetts Secretary of State
William Galvin | |
| Elections | |
| Next election: | November 3, 2026 |
| Last election: | November 8, 2022 |
| Other Massachusetts Executive Offices | |
| Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Secretary of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs • Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development • Public Utilities Commission | |
The Secretary of the Commonwealth for Massachusetts (equivalent to the Secretary of State) is the principal public information official in the state of Massachusetts. The secretary oversees historical records and preservation, public records, and the registry of deeds.[1]
Massachusetts has a Democratic triplex. The Democratic Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.
Current officeholder
The current Massachusetts Secretary of State is William Galvin (D). Galvin assumed office in 1995.
Authority
The position of secretary is established by Title 2, Chapter 9, Section 1 of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:
"There shall be a department of the state secretary under his supervision and control, organized as provided in this chapter." [2]
Qualifications
According to Article XVII of the Massachusetts Constitution, an executive officer of the commonwealth must "have been an inhabitant of this commonwealth five years next preceding his election or appointment."[3]
Elections
Massachusetts elects secretaries of the commonwealth in the midterm elections, that is, even years that are not presidential election years. For Massachusetts, 2018, 2022, 2026, and 2030 are all secretary election years.
2022
General election
General election for Massachusetts Secretary of State
Incumbent William Galvin defeated Rayla Campbell and Juan Sanchez in the general election for Massachusetts Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | William Galvin (D) | 67.7 | 1,665,808 |
 | Rayla Campbell (R) | 29.3 | 722,021 | |
 | Juan Sanchez (Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts) | 2.9 | 71,717 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 1,396 | ||
| Total votes: 2,460,942 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Massachusetts Secretary of State
Incumbent William Galvin defeated Tanisha Sullivan in the Democratic primary for Massachusetts Secretary of State on September 6, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | William Galvin | 70.1 | 524,947 |
 | Tanisha Sullivan | 29.8 | 223,420 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 602 | ||
| Total votes: 748,969 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Massachusetts Secretary of State
Rayla Campbell advanced from the Republican primary for Massachusetts Secretary of State on September 6, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rayla Campbell | 99.1 | 207,927 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 1,937 | ||
| Total votes: 209,864 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Past elections
Vacancies
If the office of the secretary becomes vacant during the annual or special session of the general court, the public elects a successor, otherwise, "it shall be supplied by the governor by appointment, with the advice and consent of the council."[3]
Duties
Role in the initiative process
Massachusetts is one of the few states whose guidelines do not require proponents to file initiatives with the secretary of commonwealth first. In this state, one must first assemble 10 registered electors to sponsor a ballot. Then, with the full text of the ballot in hand, they must arrive at the Election Commission or the board of registrars to file the petition. This must be done by the first Wednesday of August.
After the proponents have proven that they are registered voters, the attorney general will write a summary for the ballot and have it returned to the proponents. This is when the secretary of the commonwealth files both the ballot language and the summary of the ballot. The secretary will then prepare blank petition forms with the summary printed on them for signature gathering. These forms will be available within 14 days of the submission. In order to pick these petition forms up from the printer, proponents must have an authorization slip from the secretary of the commonwealth. Enough petition forms will be supplied to gather more than the required amount, but petitioners may print as many extra copies as they like.
Signature verification
Signatures must be filed by the first Wednesday of December. After the necessary number of signatures have been certified and subsequently filed with the secretary of the commonwealth, the secretary transmits the initiative petition to the House Clerk for legislative action on the first legislative day of the year.
Divisions
Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for information that describes the divisions (if any exist) of a state executive office. That information for the Massachusetts Secretary of State has not yet been added. After extensive research we were unable to identify any relevant information on state official websites. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.
State budget
- See also: Massachusetts state budget and finances
The Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth's budget for the 2025 fiscal year was $82,525,199.[4]
Compensation
- See also: Compensation of state executive officers
See statutes: M.G.L. Ch.9 §1
Massachusetts General Laws set the salary for the Secretary of the Commonwealth at $124,920, with an additional amount to be calculated according to the adjustment percentage addressed in the Massachusetts State Legislators Compensation Amendment. [5] In 1998, the Massachusetts State Legislators Compensation Amendment was passed, prohibiting state legislators from altering their base pay. Beginning in January 2001, compensation for public officials instead is adjusted (increased or decreased) every two years corresponding with changes in median household income for Massachusetts’s residents.
In 2014, a seven-member Special Advisory Commission was created by Section 239 of the Articles of Amendment to the Constitution to review and compare the compensation of Massachusetts’s public officials to other states.[6]
2023
In 2023, the officer's salary was $187,433, according to the Council of State Governments.[7]
2022
In 2022, the officer's salary was $178,695, according to the Council of State Governments.[8]
2021
In 2021, the secretary of state received a salary of $178,695, according to the Council of State Governments.[9]
2020
In 2020, the secretary of state received a salary of $136,402, according to the Council of State Governments.[10]
2019
In 2019, the secretary of state received a salary of $136,402, according to the Council of State Governments.[11]
2018
In 2018, the secretary of state received a salary of $136,402, according to the Council of State Governments.[12]
2017
In 2017, the secretary of state received a salary of $136,402, according to the Council of State Governments.[13]
2016
In 2016, the secretary of state received a salary of $130,916, according to the Council of State Governments.[14]
2015
In 2015, the secretary of state received a salary of $130,916, according to the Council of State Governments.[15]
2014
In 2014, the secretary earned a salary of $130,262, according to the Council of State Governments.[16]
2013
In 2013, the secretary earned a salary of $130,262, according to the Council of State Governments.[17]
2012
In 2012, the secretary earned a salary of $130,916, according to the Council of State Governments.[18]
2010
In 2010, the secretary earned a salary of $130,916, according to the Council of State Governments.[19]
Historical officeholders
Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the Massachusetts Secretary of State has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
Contact information
Capitol Address:[20]
Secretary of the Commonwealth
One Ashburton Place, Room 1611
Boston, MA 02108-1512
Phone: (617) 727-7030
Toll Free Phone: 1-800-392-6090
Fax: (617) 742-4528
E-mail: cis@sec.state.ma.us
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Citizen's Guide to Massachusetts State Services," accessed January 21, 2021
- ↑ Massachusetts Legislature, "General Laws Title 2, Chapter 9, Section 1," accessed January 21, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Massachusetts Legislature, "Constitution," accessed January 21, 2021
- ↑ Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "FY 2025 Enacted," accessed January 21, 2025
- ↑ 189th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, “General Laws,” accessed January 21, 2021
- ↑ Outside Section 239, "Special Advisory Commission: Compensation of MA Public Officials," accessed January 21, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2023 Table 4.11: Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed January 21, 2025
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2022 Table 4.11: Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," provided to Ballotpedia by CSG personnel
- ↑ Issuu, "The Book of the States 2021," accessed September 22, 2022
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2020," accessed January 21, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2019," accessed January 21, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2018," accessed January 21, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2017," accessed January 21, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2016," accessed January 21, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2015," accessed January 21, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed January 21, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Table 4.11 Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed January 21, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Table 4.11 Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed January 21, 2021
- ↑ The Council of State Governments, "The Book of States 2010 Table 4.11," accessed January 21, 2021
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "Contact Us" accessed January 17, 2013
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