North Carolina Secretary of State
Template:Good article Template:Short description Template:Infobox official post
The North Carolina Secretary of State is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of North Carolina, and is fourth in the line of succession to the office of Governor of North Carolina. The secretary maintains the official journal of the North Carolina General Assembly and is responsible for overseeing land records, chartering corporations, and administering some commercial regulations. The incumbent is Elaine Marshall, a Democrat and the first woman elected to the office.
The office traces its origins to the office of the Colonial Secretary of Carolina, created in 1665, and was formally created as an office in 1776. Since 1868, the secretary has been popularly elected every four years. The office's responsibilities—determined by statute—have varied over its existence. Historically weaker than their contemporaries around the United States, the secretary does not oversee elections in the state. They lead the Department of Secretary of State and sit on the North Carolina Council of State.
History of the office
In 1665, the Lord Proprietors of the Province of Carolina created the office of the Colonial Secretary of Carolina. The inaugural secretary, Richard Cobthrop, never travelled to America, but most of the subsequent 23 secretaries came to Carolina.Template:Sfn In 1675, the secretary became responsible to the King of England, and was largely tasked with clerical duties relating to land ownership. Following the United States Declaration of Independence, North Carolina created a constitution in 1776 which provided for the North Carolina General Assembly to "triennially appoint a secretary for this State."<ref name="smith">Template:Cite web</ref> The Assembly appointed James Glasgow to the office in December and reappointed him the following year.Template:Sfn He held the office for over 20 years before resigning due to allegations that he had issued fraudulent land warrants.Template:Sfn William Hill served as secretary from 1811 to 1857, setting the record tenure for the office until the 20th century. When the North Carolina State House caught fire in 1831, he saved many of the office's records.Template:Sfn Constitutional amendments passed in 1835 shortened the secretary's term of office from three to two years.Template:Sfn
In 1868, North Carolina created a new constitution, which provided for the popular election of the secretary of state with four-year terms and no term limits.Template:Sfn Thad A. Eure held the office from 1936 to 1989, setting the latest record tenure.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Most secretaries of the state have come from eastern North Carolina. Rufus L. Edmisten, sworn-in in 1989, was the first one to come from the western portion of the state.Template:Sfn Janice H. Faulkner, appointed by the Governor of North Carolina in 1996 to fill the vacancy created by Edmisten's resignation, became the first woman to hold the office.<ref name= AP>Template:Cite news</ref> Elaine Marshall, who assumed the office in 1997, was the first woman ever elected to a North Carolina statewide executive office.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Since the passage of the Executive Reorganization Act of 1971, the secretary's agency has been the Department of Secretary of State.Template:Sfn<ref name="smith"/>
The office's responsibilities—determined by statute—have varied over its existence. The secretariat managed the issuance of land grants from its colonial creation until 1957. In 1831, the secretary was briefly designated state librarian.<ref name="smith"/> In 1868, a Bureau of Statistics, Agriculture, and Immigration was placed within the office and remained there until a separate Department of Agriculture was created in 1877.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The office has also at times been responsible for insurance regulation, vehicle registration, and collection of the state gas tax. Until the General Assembly was moved to the State Legislative Building and given a professional staff in the 1960s, the secretary was responsible for assisting it in several matters, including seating assignments in the legislative chambers, enrolling acts and resolutions before their ratification, and indexing and printing the session laws.<ref name="smith"/>Template:Sfn A 1968 constitutional study commission recommended making the governor responsible for the selection of the secretary to reduce voters' burden by shortening the ballot, but this proposal was disregarded by the General Assembly when it revised the state constitution in 1971.Template:Sfn The State Board of Elections briefly operated under the secretary from 1971 to 1972.Template:Sfn
Powers, duties, and structure
The secretary of state is a constitutional officer.Template:Sfn Article III, Section 7, of the Constitution of North Carolina stipulates the popular election of the secretary of state every four years. The office holder is not subject to term limits. In the event of a vacancy in the office, the Governor of North Carolina has the authority to appoint a successor until a candidate is elected at the next general election for members of the General Assembly. Per Article III, Section 8 of the constitution, the secretary sits on the Council of State.Template:Sfn They maintain the schedule and agenda of council meetings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They are ex officio a member of the Local Government CommissionTemplate:Sfn and Capital Planning Commission.Template:Sfn They are fourth in line of succession to the governor.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Historically, the North Carolina Secretary of State has been weaker than their contemporaries around the United States. Unlike in other states, where the secretary of state serves as the chief elections officer, in North Carolina the State Board of Elections administers elections independently of other agencies.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> With regards to elections, the secretary is responsible for storing official copies of election results sent to them by the State Board of Elections and arranging the meeting of North Carolina's presidential electors every four years.<ref name= dont>Template:Cite web</ref> The secretary is charged with attending sessions of the General Assembly to obtain possession of laws passed by it, and maintains the official journals of each house.Template:Sfn They also administer the North Carolina Securities Act and the Uniform Commercial Code, charter corporations, register trademarks, manage land records, and register legislative lobbyists.<ref name="smith"/> They are empowered to investigate violations of lobbying laws and impose civil fines not exceeding $5,000 for infractions.Template:Sfn The secretary commissions notaries public in the state,<ref name="smith"/> and they are empowered to administer oaths of office to public officials and law enforcement officers.Template:Sfn They attend the ceremonies in which an outgoing governor turns over the Great Seal of North Carolina to their successor.Template:Sfn
The Department of Secretary of State has several divisions and sections: corporations division, publications division, securities division, trademarks section, Uniform Commercial Code section, authentications section, charitable solicitation licensing section, land records section, lobbyist compliance division, and notary public section.Template:Sfn As of January 2025, the department has 167 employees retained under the terms of the State Human Resources Act.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As with all Council of State officers, the secretary of state's salary is fixed by the General Assembly and cannot be reduced during their term of office.Template:Sfn As of 2025, the secretary's annual salary is $168,384.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
List of secretaries of state
References
Works cited
- Template:Cite news
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite magazine
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite news
External links
- Template:Official website
- Biennial reports of the NC Secretary of State, 1867-1948
- Partial History of NC Secretary of State Races at OurCampaigns.com
Template:North Carolina Council of State Template:U.S. State Secretaries of State Template:Subject bar Template:Authority control