The Secretary of State

Secretary of State (U.S. state government)

Secretary of State is an official in the state governments of 47 of the 50 states of the United States, as well as Puerto Rico and other U.S. possessions. In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, this official is called the Secretary of the Commonwealth...

 of Arkansas is one of the elected 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 Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

.

The current Secretary of State is Mark Martin.

Organization

The Secretary of State's Office is composed of seven divisions:

• The Building & Grounds Division maintains the Arkansas State Capitol
  Arkansas State Capitol
  The Arkansas State Capitol Building, located in Little Rock, is the main house of government of the state of Arkansas.-History:In 1899, the St. Louis architect George R. Mann visited the governor of Arkansas Daniel W. Jones, and presented his drawings of his winning competition design for the...
  
   and its surrounding grounds and gardens.
• The Business & Commercial Services Division is responsible for filing 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 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...
  
  , registering business entities and 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, collecting the state franchise tax
  Franchise tax
  Franchise tax is a tax charged by some US states to corporations with a nexus with those states. The common feature of a state's franchise tax is that it is not based on income...
  
  , and licensing 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...
  
  .
• The Communications & Education Division provides public education about civics
  Civics
  Civics is the study of rights and duties of citizenship. In other words, it is the study of government with attention to the role of citizens ― as opposed to external factors ― in the operation and oversight of government....
  
   and the History of Arkansas
  History of Arkansas
  Arkansas was the 25th state admitted to the United States.-Exploration and early inhabitation:Indigenous peoples inhabited the area now known as Arkansas for thousands of years before the first European explorers....
  
  , and produces various state publications.
• The Elections Division administers elections, regulates campaign finance
  Campaign finance
  Campaign finance refers to all funds that are raised and spent in order to promote candidates, parties or policies in some sort of electoral contest. In modern democracies such funds are not necessarily devoted to election campaigns. Issue campaigns in referendums, party activities and party...
  
   and lobbying
  Lobbying
  Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
  
  , and ensures compliance with state and federal election law
  Election law
  Election law is a discipline falling at the juncture of constitutional law and political science. It researches "the politics of law and the law of politics"...
  
  s.
• The Fiscal Office deals with the internal financial, logistical, and personnel matters of the Office of the Secretary of State. They also distribute the Arkansas
  Flag of Arkansas
  The flag of the state of Arkansas is a red field charged with a large blue-bordered white diamond. Twenty-nine five-pointed stars appear on the flag: twenty-five small white stars within the blue border, and four larger blue stars in the white diamond. The inscription "ARKANSAS" appears in blue...
  
   and United States flag
  Flag of the United States
  The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
  
  .
• The Secretary also runs the State Capitol Gift Shop.
• The State Capitol Police provide security for the State Capitol building and police services for the Capitol Complex.

Other duties

The Secretary of State also publishes the state's administrative regulations

Administrative law

Administrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law...

 and the state gazette

Gazette

A gazette is a public journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper.In English- and French-speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name Gazette since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers bear the name The Gazette.Gazette is a loanword from the...

, the Arkansas Register.

Officeholders

Only Democrats

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 were elected to the office of Secretary of State from Reconstruction until the retirement of Charlie Daniels to run for State Auditor in 2010, when the first Republican to hold the office, Mark Martin, was elected.

External links

• Official homepage of the Arkansas Secretary of State