Secretary of State of Colorado
Encyclopedia
The Secretary of State of Colorado is 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 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 names
    Doing business as
    The 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 name
    Trade name
    A 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 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 files financing statements and notices of security interests in agricultural products 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...

    , federal tax lien
    Tax lien
    A 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 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; performs searches of those records; provides copies of filed documents; issues related certificates; and provides pertinent educational services.
  • Licensing Division: Issues bingo/raffle
    Raffle
    A 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 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...

    ; registers charitable organization
    Charitable organization
    A 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 rulemaking
    Rulemaking
    In 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 registration
    Voter registration
    Voter 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 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...

     laws; and serves as the filing office for unincorporated communities
    Unincorporated area
    In 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 interest
    Conflict of interest
    A 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 resources
    Human resources
    Human 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 Seal
    Seal of Colorado
    The 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 Assembly
    Colorado General Assembly
    The 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 systems
    Information systems
    Information 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

NameTerm
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

External links

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