North Carolina Secretary of State

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Secretary of State of North Carolina
SOS NC.png
SOS Elaine Marshall.png
Incumbent
Elaine Marshall
since January 6, 1997
Style
  • Mr. or Madam Secretary
    (informal)
  • The Honorable
    (formal)
StatusConstitutional officer
Member ofCouncil of State
SeatRaleigh, North Carolina
AppointerGeneral election
Term lengthFour years, no term limits
Inaugural holderJames Glasgow
FormationNovember 12, 1776
(245 years ago) (1776-11-12)
Salary$125,676
WebsiteOfficial Site, Facebook

The North Carolina Secretary of State is a 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. Twenty-three individuals have held the office since statehood. The incumbent is Elaine Marshall, a Democrat and the first woman elected to the office.

History of the office[]

The position of Secretary of State is, behind only the position of Governor, the oldest government office in the state of North Carolina, dating back to 1665 as the record keeper for the Province of Carolina. The position of North Carolina Secretary of State has, since American independence in 1776, historically had a very low rate of turnover. Only eight individuals held the office during the first hundred years of statehood; served as secretary for 46 years continuously, from 1811 until his death in 1857.[1] In the 20th century, Thad A. Eure broke this record, holding the post for 53 consecutive years, from 1936 to 1989.[2]

From 1776 to 1868, the Secretary of State was elected by the state legislature. Under the Constitutions of 1868 and 1971, the Secretary of State is elected every four years by a plurality of the popular vote.[2]

Powers and duties[]

The Secretary of State is the chief records officer for the State of North Carolina, and as such, records, certifies and preserves all conveyances and mortgages concerning the state, all official oaths of public officials required to file, all political appointments made in the legislative, executive, or judicial branches, all session laws and joint resolutions of the General Assembly, and all official acts done by the Governor that have passed the Great Seal. Moreover, the Secretary of State annually publishes and distributes the statutes and journals of the General Assembly, compiles data on state government for citizens and for legislative reference, registers and regulates lobbyists, receives and publishes notices of state agency meetings, presides over quadrennial sessions of the Electoral College in North Carolina, and safeguards the state constitution.[3]

Hand in hand with the receipt and safekeeping of important government records, the Secretary of State also acts as company register throughout North Carolina. In this capacity, the Secretary of State registers and enforces state laws for a variety of business associations, including cooperatives, limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships, limited partnerships, assumed business names, and corporations, whether foreign or domestic or for-profit or nonprofit. Similarly, the Secretary of State regulates charities and securities in order to protect consumers, files advance healthcare directives, records Uniform Commercial Code financing statements and tax liens, supervises occupational licensing boards, commissions notaries public, registers trademarks and prosecutes counterfeits, and issues apostilles and authentications of official documents for use abroad.[4] Unlike in many other states however, North Carolina's Secretary of State does not have any duties with regard to elections.[5]

List of secretaries of state[]

William L Saunders
Thad Eure
Rufus L. Edmisten

The following is a list of the North Carolina secretaries of state, the years they served, the counties they were from and political party when known:[6][7]

North Carolina Manual[]

Since 1874, the Secretary of State has published a book that summaries the political history of North Carolina and serves as a guide for legislators and citizens. This book is called the North Carolina Manual. The book is published in time for the first General Assembly session. Some of these books have been uploaded into Google Books and the Internet Archive. They are also available at the State Library of North Carolina Digital Collection.[11]

  • 1874, Wheeler, John H., ed. (1874). The Legislative Manual and Political Register of the State of North Carolina. Raleigh: Josiah Turner, Jr., State Printer and Binder. Retrieved April 9, 2019., Compiled by authority of the General Assembly of North Carolina, under the direction of W. H. Howerton, Secretary of State, John Wheeler was previously the Treasurer of the State, and Author of the History of North Carolina. This book is also located in Wikimedia Commons.
  • 1905, A Pocket Manual for the Use of Members of the General Assembly of North Carolina. 1905.. This book includes a foreword by the Secretary of State, J. Bryan Grimes
  • 1907, A Pocket Manual for the Use of Members of the General Assembly of North Carolina. 1907.. This book includes a foreword by the Secretary of State, J. Bryan Grimes
  • 1913, Connor, R.D.D. (1913). A Manual of North Carolina (PDF). Raleigh: North Carolina Historical Commission. Retrieved April 27, 2019., Connor was secretary of the North Carolina Historical Commission
  • 1919, Connor, R.D.D., ed. (1919). North Carolina Manual, 1919., printed by Edwards and Broughton, State Printers, 1818
  • 1921, Connor, R.D.D. (1921). North Carolina Manual.
  • 1923, House, R.B., ed. (1923). North Carolina Manual., R.B. House was the archivist of the North Carolina Historical Society
  • 1935, London, H.M., ed. (1935). North Carolina Manual., H. M. London was the legislative reference librarian
  • 1953, North Carolina Manual (PDF). 1953., Thad Eure, Secretary of State
  • 1955, North Carolina Manual (PDF). 1955., Thad Eure, Secretary of State
  • 1975, Cheney, John L. Jr., ed. (1975). North Carolina Government, 1585-1974, A Narrative and Statistical History., Secretary of State Thad A. Eure issued this history in 1975
  • 1977, Lewis, J.D. (1977). "North Carolina Manual" (PDF). Carolana.com. Retrieved November 3, 2019., Thad Eure, Secretary of State
  • 2007, North Carolina Manual. 2007. Includes a foreword by the Secretary of State, Elaine F. Marshall

References[]

  1. ^ a b York, Maury (1988). "William Hill". NCPedia. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Smith, Clyde (2006). "North Carolina Secretary of State". NCPedia. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  3. ^ "Statutory Authority of the Secretary of State". North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  4. ^ "Statutory Authority of the Secretary of State". North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  5. ^ "Chapter 147, section 36, Duties of the Secretary of State" (PDF). NCLEG.NET. 1971. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  6. ^ Connor, R.D.D., ed. (1913). A Manual of North Carolina (PDF). Raleigh: North Carolina Historical Commission. p. 441. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  7. ^ Wheeler, John H., ed. (1874). The Legislative Manual and Political Register of the State of North Carolina. p. 441. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  8. ^ William Henry Howerton Family Papers and Account Books
  9. ^ Grant, D. F. (1986). "Joseph Engelhard". NCpedia. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  10. ^ Steelman, Bennett L. (1979). "Octavius Coke". NCpedia.
  11. ^ Lewis, J.D. "North Carolina Manuals". Carolina.com. Retrieved November 3, 2019.

External links[]

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