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Secretary of State office comparison
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The secretary of state position differs between the 47 states that have the office. The position does not exist in Alaska, Hawaii, and Utah. In those states, the Lieutenant Governor is in charge of those responsibilities that ordinarily a secretary of state would hold. In three states, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the office is called the Secretary of the Commonwealth. From state to state, the secretary of state position is one of the offices whose responsibilities vary the most.
Many of the responsibilities held by the position are administrative. Most are tasked with keeping state records, from registering businesses to recording the official acts of the governor. The officeholder also often serves as the chief election official in their state, administering state elections and maintaining official election results. The commissioning and regulation of notaries public, keeping of the official state seal, and certification of official documents all typically fall under the purview of the secretary of state. Some oversee securities regulation, head the department of motor vehicles, monitor charitable giving, oversee the preparation of extraditions and warrants, direct the state libraries or museums, maintain the state capitol, commission notaries public, and participate in the state’s international trade activities. Major issue areas include elections, registration, filing, licensing, custodial duties, and publishing.
This page compares the office from state to state, examining similarities and differences such as how they win office, term limits, authority, salary, and duties.
Current officeholders
Political parties
The chart below is a breakdown of the political parties of current secretaries of state. For other state executive offices, click here.
| Office |  Democratic
|
 Republican
|
 Independent
|
Nonpartisan | Vacancy | Total seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secretary of State | 21 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 |
| Counts current as of September 2025. If you see an error, please email us. | ||||||
List of Current Secretaries of State
Salaries by state
The following table lists the salary reported for each state's secretaries of state in the Book of the States going back to 2010. Darker shades of grey indicate higher salaries. To rank states by secretaries of state salary for a given year, click the header for that year.
About the office
Elected or appointed
In 35 states, the position is popularly elected. The remaining 12 offices are filled by appointment: 9 by the governor and 3 by the state legislature.[1]
States (9) in which secretaries are appointed by the governor include:
- Delaware • Florida • Maryland • New Jersey • New York • Oklahoma • Pennsylvania • Texas • Virginia
States (3) in which secretaries are appointed by the state legislature include:
Term Length
The majority of the term lengths for the secretary of state's offices are four years. Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine's secretaries are limited to two years. Maryland, Florida, Delaware, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Virginia's secretaries serve at the pleasure of the governor. New York, Texas, and New Jersey secretaries serve terms concurrent with their appointing governors.[1]
Term Limits
- Main article: State executives with term limits and Secretaries of State with term limits
31 states do not have term limits for the office of Secretary of State. Maine allows for four consecutive two-year terms. Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, and South Dakota specify two consecutive terms. Montana limits officeholders to two terms (eight years) in a 16-year period and Oregon limits officeholders to eight years (two terms) in a 12-year period. The rest of the states who have term limits have a hard two-term maximum.[1]
States with term limits include:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Michigan
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
Authority
38 offices of the secretaries of state get their power from original articles in their states' constitutions. Those that do not include:
- Massachusetts, which gets its power from the Massachusetts General Laws, Title 2, Chapter 9, Section 1
- New York, from the NY Code - Section 90
- Florida, from the Florida Statutes, 20.10
- Rhode Island, from the Rhode Island general laws, Section 42-8-1
- Virginia, from the Code of Virginia, Title 2.2, Chapter 4
- Wisconsin, from the Wisconsin State Code, Chapter 14.36
Duties
Almost all secretaries of state issue corporation charters, administer election law, register trademarks, maintain legislative bills, Acts, and Records, publish a state manual or directory, publish session laws and abstracts of votes, and attest executive documents. Some have many more responsibilities, and others do less. Ballotpedia has compiled a snapshot of notable differences. For full details, the National Association of Secretaries of State and the Book of States by the Council of State Governments have produced a table on responsibilities for each state. Find what's different about your state's secretary below.[2]
- 12 secretaries are in responsible for enrolling bills
- 20 secretaries register lobbyists
Alabama
Alabama
The Secretary of State of Alabama is also a member of the State Board of Pardons. This secretary does not publish a state directory or abstract of votes but he or she does issue land patents and extradition and requisition papers.
Arizona
Arizona
Although the Secretary of State of Alaska registers charitable organizations, the secretary is one of the few that does not register corporations.
Arkansas
Arkansas
The Secretary of State of Arkansas does not publish a state directory or abstract of votes.
California
California
The Secretary of State of California does not publish session laws but does attest to governor issued land patents.
Colorado
Colorado
The Secretary of State of Colorado is also a member of the executive council, the state board of education, and the state board of canvassers.
Delaware
Delaware
The Secretary of State of Delaware is not the custodian of the state archive. The secretary is not the chief elections officer but is a member of the state board of elections.
Florida
Florida
The Secretary of State of Florida is not the custodian of the state archive but is a member of both the state board of elections and the state board of education. The Secretary is not responsible for conducting voter education programs.
Georgia
Georgia
The Secretary of State of Georgia issues charters only for banks, insurance, railroad, canal, navigation, express, and telegraph companies. The Secretary also registers securities but does not publish session laws or abstracts of votes.
Idaho
Idaho
The Secretary of State of Idaho is also a member of the state board of pardons, the state land board, and the state board of canvassers.
Illinois
Illinois
The Secretary of State of Illinois also registers motor vehicles as well as securities for the state and is a member of the state board of canvassers. The Secretary in this state is not the chief elections officer.
Indiana
Indiana
The Secretary of State of Indiana also registers securities and issues land permits.
Iowa
Iowa
The Secretary of State of Iowa does not maintain the state archives, publish a state directory, or publish session laws but is a member of the executive council.
Kansas
Kansas
The Secretary of State of Kansas does not maintain the state archives but is a member of both the executive council and the state board of canvassers.
Kentucky
Kentucky
The Secretary of State of Kentucky is also a member of the state land board and issues land permits. The Secretary does not publish a state directory or session laws.
Maine
Maine
The Secretary of State of Maine also registers motor vehicles but does not publish a state directory or session laws.
Maryland
Maryland
The Secretary of State of Maryland does not issue corporation charters, maintain the state archives, publish session laws or act as the custodian of legislative bills, acts, or records. This is mainly because here the Secretary is not the chief election officer. The Secretary is a member of the state board of canvassers.
Michigan
Michigan
The Secretary of State of Michigan does not issue corporation charters but does register motor vehicles and issue land permits. The Secretary is also a member of the executive council and the state board of canvassers.
Minnesota
Minnesota
The Secretary of State of Minnesota does not publish session laws, but does register motor vehicles and is a member of the executive council and the state board of canvassers.
Mississippi
Mississippi
The Secretary of State of Mississippi also registers securities and is a member of the state board of education. The Secretary does not maintain the state archive.
Missouri
Missouri
In addition to the duties listed, the Secretary of State of Missouri registers motor vehicles, registers securities, and is a member of the state board of education.
Montana
Montana
The Secretary of State of Montana does not maintain the state archive but is a member of the state board of pardons and the state land board.
Nebraska
Nebraska
The Secretary of State of Nebraska is also a member of the state board of pardons, the state land board, and the state board of canvassers.
Nevada
Nevada
The Secretary of State of Nevada also registers motor vehicles and is a member of the state board of canvassers but does not maintain the state archive.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire
The Secretary of State of New Hampshire is not responsible for voter education programs.
New Jersey
New Jersey
The Secretary of State of New Jersey is also a member of the state board of pardons and the state board of canvassers. The Secretary does not publish a state directory or abstracts of votes.
New Mexico
New Mexico
The Secretary of State of New Mexico does not issue corporation charters. The Secretary is a member of the state board of canvassers.
New York
New York
The Secretary of State of New York does not maintain state archives but is a member of the state land board and issues land permits. The Secretary is not the chief election official
North Carolina
North Carolina
The Secretary of State of North Carolina is also a member of the executive council and issues land permits. The secretary is not the chief election official and does not administer election laws.
Ohio
Ohio
The Secretary of State of Ohio does not maintain the state archive. The Secretary is a member of the state board of canvassers.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
The Secretary of State of Oklahoma is also a member of the state land board. The Secretary is not the chief election official, so he or she does not administer election law. The Secretary does not publish a state directory, session laws, or abstracts of votes.
Oregon
Oregon
The Secretary of State of Oregon does not issue corporation charters but is the registrar of motor vehicles. Oregon's Secretary is also a member of the state board of education, the state land board, and the state board of canvassers.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Secretary of State of Pennsylvania does not maintain the state archive o publish state directories or abstracts of votes. The Secretary is a member of the executive council, the state board of pardons, and the state land board.
South Carolina
South Carolina
The Secretary of State of South Carolina does not publish state directories, session laws, or abstracts of votes. The Secretary is not the chief election official but is a member of the state board of canvassers.
South Dakota
South Dakota
The Secretary of State of South Dakota also registers motor vehicles and is a member of the state board of pardons.
Tennessee
Tennessee
The Secretary of State of Tennessee is not the chief election official and does not maintain state archives or publish abstracts of votes.
Texas
Texas
The Secretary of State of Texas also registers securities and is a member of the state board of canvassers.
Virginia
Virginia
The Secretary of State of Virginia does not issue corporation charters, register trademarks, or maintain state archives. The secretary also is not responsible for the custody of legislative bills, acts, and records, and does not publish session laws. The secretary is not the chief election official but is a member of the state board of canvassers.
Washington
Washington
The Secretary of State of Washington does not maintain the state archive but is a member of the state land board and the state board of canvassers.
West Virginia
West Virginia
The Secretary of State of West Virginia does not maintain state archives, publish state directories, or publish session laws.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
The Secretary of State of Wisconsin is also a member of the state land board and the state board of canvassers. The Secretary is not the chief election official and does not publish a state directory.
Wyoming
Wyoming
In addition to the other duties listed above, the Secretary of State of Wyoming also registers motor vehicles and registers securities. The Secretary is also a member of the state board of pardons, the state land board, and the state board of canvassers.
See also
External links
Footnotes
