Secretary of State of Colorado
Encyclopedia
The Secretary of State of Colorado is the secretary of state
of the state of Colorado
in the United States
. The office is one of five elected constitutional
offices in the state
.
The current Secretary of State is Scott Gessler
.
The Secretary of State heads the Colorado Department of State, which is composed of five divisions:
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 the state of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The office is one of five elected constitutional
Constitution of the State of Colorado
The Constitution of the State of Colorado is the foundation of the laws and government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The current, and only, Colorado State Constitution was drafted 1876-03-14, approved by Colorado voters 1876-07-01, and took effect upon the statehood of Colorado on 1876-08-01...
offices in the 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...
.
The current Secretary of State is Scott Gessler
Scott Gessler
Scott Gessler is a businessman, Republican Party activist. He is the Secretary of State of Colorado. He received a law degree from University of Michigan.-Overseas soldier voting controversy:...
.
The Secretary of State heads the Colorado Department of State, which is composed of five divisions:
- Business Division: Files documents for certain business organizations and business namesDoing business asThe phrase "doing business as" is a legal term used in the United States, meaning that the trade name, or fictitious business name, under which the business or operation is conducted and presented to the world is not the legal name of the legal person who actually own it and are responsible for it...
; files trade nameTrade nameA trade name, also known as a trading name or a business name, is the name which a business trades under for commercial purposes, although its registered, legal name, used for contracts and other formal situations, may be another....
s for certain business entities; registers trademarkTrademarkA 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 files financing statements and notices of security interests in agricultural products pursuant to the Uniform Commercial CodeUniform Commercial CodeThe 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...
, federal tax lienTax lienA tax lien is a lien imposed by law upon a property to secure the payment of taxes. A tax lien may be imposed for delinquent taxes owed on real property or personal property, or as a result of failure to pay income taxes or other taxes....
s; and other miscellaneous statutory lienLienIn 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; performs searches of those records; provides copies of filed documents; issues related certificates; and provides pertinent educational services. - Licensing Division: Issues bingo/raffleRaffleA raffle is a competition in which people obtain numbered tickets, each ticket having the chance of winning a prize. At a set time, the winners are drawn from a container holding a copy of every number...
licenses and inspects facilities and operations of these games to ensure compliance with bingo/raffle laws; commissions and regulates notaries publicNotary publicA 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...
; registers charitable organizationCharitable organizationA charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
s that solicit contributions in Colorado and their professional fundraisers; publishes the Colorado administrative rules code and register, and provides rulemakingRulemakingIn administrative law, rulemaking refers to the process that executive and independent agencies use to create, or promulgate, regulations. In general, legislatures first set broad policy mandates by passing statutes, then agencies create more detailed regulations through rulemaking.By bringing...
guidance for state agencies. - Elections Division: Supervises elections, maintains the statewide voter registrationVoter registrationVoter registration is the requirement in some democracies for citizens and residents to check in with some central registry specifically for the purpose of being allowed to vote in elections. An effort to get people to register is known as a voter registration drive.-Centralized/compulsory vs...
file, verifies initiative petition signatures, and administers the campaign financeCampaign financeCampaign 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...
laws; and serves as the filing office for unincorporated communitiesUnincorporated areaIn law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
and for conflict of interestConflict of interestA conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
disclosure statements. - Administration Division: Provides management and central support services for the Department of State such as budgeting, accounting, and human resourcesHuman resourcesHuman resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...
; monitors the use of the State SealSeal of ColoradoThe Great Seal of the State of Colorado is an adaptation of the Territorial Seal which was adopted by the First Territorial Assembly on November 6, 1861. The only changes made in the Territorial Seal design being the substitution of the words, "State of Colorado" and the figures "1876" for the...
, certifies the interest rate on appealed money judgments, files Acts passed by the General AssemblyColorado General AssemblyThe Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado.-Constitutional definition:The Colorado Constitution establishes a system of government based on the separation of powers doctrine with power divided among three "departments": executive, legislative and judicial...
, and conveys information within the office to the public; plans and monitors legislation that affects the Department of State; responds to inquires from the press and public; licenses entities that circulate petitions; and registers lobbyists. - Information Technology Division: Supports the information systemsInformation systemsInformation Systems is an academic/professional discipline bridging the business field and the well-defined computer science field that is evolving toward a new scientific area of study...
needs of the entire Secretary of State's office. Maintains the Departmental infrastructure consisting of multiple servers, personal computers, networking equipment, firewall, telephony, peripherals, and other information technology equipment to support the data and imaging needs of the Department. Also supports the Web presence of the Secretary of State.
Secretaries of State of Colorado
Name | Term | |
---|---|---|
Lewis Ledyard Weld | 1861-1861 | |
Samuel Hitt Elbert Samuel Hitt Elbert Samuel Hitt Elbert served as Governor of the Territory of Colorado and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado .... |
1862–1866 | |
Frank Hall Frank Hall Frank Hall was an Irish broadcaster, journalist, satirist and film censor. He is best remembered for his satirical revue programme Hall's Pictorial Weekly.-Early life:... |
1866–1874 | |
John W. Jenkins | 1874–1875 | |
John Taffe John Taffe John Taffe was a Nebraska Republican politician.-Biography:He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on January 30, 1827. He passed the bar and moved to the Nebraska Territory in 1856, becoming a member of the Nebraska Territorial house of representatives from 1858 to 1859 and as the president of the... |
1875–1876 | |
William Clark | 1876–1879 | Republican |
Norman Meldrum | 1879–1883 | Republican |
Melvin Edwards | 1883–1887 | Republican |
James Rice | 1887–1891 | Republican |
Edward J. Eaton | 1891–1893 | Republican |
Nelson O. McCless | 1893–1895 | Populist |
Albert B. McGaffey | 1895–1897 | Republican |
Charles H.S. Whipple | 1897–1899 | Democratic |
Elmer F. Beckwith | 1899–1901 | Democratic |
David A. Mills | 1901–1903 | Democratic |
James Cowie | 1903–1907 | Republican |
Timothy O'Connor Timothy O'Connor Timothy O'Connor was a Fianna Fáil member of the Dáil Éireann in the Ireland representing the constituency of Kerry South from 1961 to 1981. He stood unsuccessfully in the 1979 European Parliament election for the Munster constituency. He lost his seat in the 1981 general election.-External links:*... |
1907–1909 | Republican |
James B. Pearce | 1909–1915 | Democratic |
John E. Ramer | 1915–1917 | Republican |
James R. Noland | 1917–1921 | Democratic |
Carl Miliken | 1921–1927 | Republican |
Charles Armstrong | 1927–1935 | Republican |
James Carr | 1935-1935 | Democratic |
George Saunders George Saunders George Saunders is a New York Times bestselling American writer of short stories, essays, novellas and children's books. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, McSweeney's and GQ, among other publications... |
1935–1941 | Democratic |
Walter Morrison Walter Morrison Walter "Junie" Morrison is a musician and producer born in Dayton, Ohio. Morrison was a producer, writer, keyboardist and vocalist for the funk band the Ohio Players in the early 70s, where he wrote and produced their first major hit, "Funky Worm"... |
1941–1949 | Republican |
George Baker | 1949–1953 | Democratic |
Homer Bruce | 1953–1955 | Republican |
George Baker | 1955–1963 | Democratic |
Bryon A. Anderson | 1963–1974 | Republican |
Mary Estill Buchanan | 1974–1983 | Republican |
Natalie Meyer | 1983–1995 | Republican |
Victoria Buckley | 1995–1999 | Republican |
Donetta Davidson Donetta Davidson Donetta Davidson is a member of the United States Election Assistance Commission. Davidson was elected Chair of the EAC for 2010. She previously served as Chair in 2007 and Vice-Chair in 2008... |
1999–2005 | Republican |
Gigi Dennis | 2005–2007 | Republican |
Mike Coffman Mike Coffman Michael "Mike" Coffman is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009, and a former Secretary of State of Colorado. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education, and business career:... |
2007–2009 | Republican |
Bernie Buescher Bernie Buescher Bernie Buescher is the former secretary of state of Colorado. A Democrat, he was appointed to the office in 2009 by Governor of Colorado Bill Ritter to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Republican Mike Coffman.... |
2009–2011 | Democratic |
Scott Gessler Scott Gessler Scott Gessler is a businessman, Republican Party activist. He is the Secretary of State of Colorado. He received a law degree from University of Michigan.-Overseas soldier voting controversy:... |
2011–present | Republican |