Secretary of State of Kentucky
Encyclopedia
The Secretary of State of Kentucky is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

. It is now an elected office, but was an appointed office prior to 1891. The current Secretary of State is Democrat Elaine Walker
Elaine Walker
Elaine Nogay Walker is an American politician and the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. She assumed office on January 29, 2011 and is a member of the Democratic Party...

, who was appointed by Governor
Governor of Kentucky
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Fifty-six men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once...

 Steve Beshear
Steve Beshear
Steven Lynn "Steve" Beshear is an American politician who is the 61st Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. A Democrat, Beshear previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1979, was the state's Attorney General from 1980 to 1983, and was Lieutenant Governor from...

 to fulfill the unexpired term of Republican Trey Grayson
Trey Grayson
Charles Merwin "Trey" Grayson III is the director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, a former Secretary of State of Kentucky and a candidate in the 2010 GOP primary to replace Jim Bunning, losing to Rand Paul.-Early years and career:A product of the Kenton County public school...

. Walker, who formerly served as the mayor of Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...

, took office on January 29, 2011.

History and name of position

Despite the fact that Kentucky designates itself a Commonwealth
Commonwealth (United States)
Four of the constituent states of the United States officially designate themselves Commonwealths: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia....

, the office itself is still referred to as "Secretary of State". The office was created by Article II, Section 17 of the Kentucky Constitution
Kentucky Constitution
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the document that governs the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was first adopted in 1792 and has since been rewritten three times and amended many more...

 of 1792 simply as "the secretary". Article III, Section 21, of the Kentucky Constitution of 1850 changed the title of the office to Secretary of State.

Section 91 of the Kentucky Constitution of 1891 (the most recent state constitution), changed the method by which the Secretary of State is selected. Prior to 1891, the secretary was appointed by the governor; under the present Constitution, the Secretary of State is elected by the qualified voters of the state. The next election is in 2011
Kentucky Secretary of State election, 2011
The state of Kentucky elected a Secretary of State on Tuesday, November 8, 2011. Primaries for this election were held on Tuesday, May 17, 2011. In the general election, Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes defeated the Republican candidate, Bill Johnson.-Background:...

. In 1992, the Constitution was amended to allow the Secretary of State to serve two successive terms.

Emma Guy Cromwell
Emma Guy Cromwell
Emma Guy Cromwell was a suffragist, women's rights activist, and early female Democratic Party politician from Kentucky in the United States. Cromwell became the first woman to hold a statewide office in Kentucky when she was elected state librarian in 1896 by a vote of the Kentucky State Senate...

 ran for the office of Secretary of State, defeating another woman, Mary Elliott Flanery
Mary Elliott Flanery
Mary Elliott Flanery was an American progressive era social reformer, suffragist, politician, and journalist who is best remembered as the first women elected to the Kentucky General Assembly and first women elected to a state legislature south of the Mason Dixon Line...

, and two men in the 1923 Democratic primary. In the general election, Cromwell went on to defeat her Republican opponent, Eleanor Wickliffe. She was sworn in on January 10, 1924 and became the first woman elected to statewide office in Kentucky.

Structure and duties of the office

The Secretary of State's Office is composed of five divisions:
  • The Business Services Division is responsible for maintaining records regarding creation and status of corporation
    Corporation
    A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...

    s and business entities, registration of trademark
    Trademark
    A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...

    s and service mark
    Service mark
    A service mark or servicemark is a trademark used in some countries, notably the United States, to identify a service rather than a product. When a service mark is federally registered, the standard registration symbol ® or "Reg U.S. Pat & TM Off" may be used...

    s, recording lien
    Lien
    In law, a lien is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation...

    s made pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code
    Uniform Commercial Code
    The Uniform Commercial Code , first published in 1952, is one of a number of uniform acts that have been promulgated in conjunction with efforts to harmonize the law of sales and other commercial transactions in all 50 states within the United States of America.The goal of harmonizing state law is...

    .
  • The Elections Division certifies the name, party affiliation and ballot position of all candidates filed with him to the appropriate county clerks for ballot printing. The actual administration of elections is conducted by a separate, independent agency, the Kentucky State Board of Elections.
  • The Administrative Services Division appoints notaries public
    Notary public
    A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...

    , issues apostilles, and serves as the registered agent
    Registered Agent
    A registered agent, also known as a resident agent or statutory agent, in United States business law, is a business or individual designated to receive service of process when a business entity is a party in a legal action such as a lawsuit or summons...

     for service of process
    Service of process
    Service of process is the procedure employed to give legal notice to a person of a court or administrative body's exercise of its jurisdiction over that person so as to enable that person to respond to the proceeding before the court, body or other tribunal...

     in cases involving foreign corporations, as well as service of summons
    Summons
    Legally, a summons is a legal document issued by a court or by an administrative agency of government for various purposes.-Judicial summons:...

     and petitions in actions against non-resident motorists.
  • Kentucky Land Office is an archive
    Archive
    An archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...

     of land patent
    Land patent
    A land patent is a land grant made patent by the sovereign lord over the land in question. To make a such a grant “patent”, such a sovereign lord must document the land grant, securely sign and seal the document and openly publish the same to the public for all to see...

    s and land grant
    Land grant
    A land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...

    s dating back to the colonial era.
  • Executive Branch of the Office of the Secretary of State files and maintains legislation
    Legislation
    Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...

     passed by the Kentucky General Assembly
    Kentucky General Assembly
    The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky.The General Assembly meets annually in the state capitol building in Frankfort, Kentucky, convening on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January...

     and executive orders of the Governor of Kentucky
    Governor of Kentucky
    The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Fifty-six men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once...

    , including appointments to the Order of Kentucky Colonels
    Kentucky colonel
    Kentucky colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Commissions for Kentucky colonels are given by the Governor and the Secretary of State to individuals in recognition of noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to a community, state or the nation...

    . This division is also the keeper of the Seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
    Seal of Kentucky
    The Seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky was adopted in December of 1792. Since that time, it has undergone several revisions. The current seal depicts two men, one in buckskin, and the other in more formal dress. The men are facing each other and clasping hands...

    and the personal seal of the Secretary of State.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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