The secretary of state of Washington is an independently elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. Fifteen individuals have held the office of Secretary of State since statehood. The incumbent is Steve Hobbs, a Democrat.

Qualifications

To hold office as Secretary of State, a person must be a United States citizen registered to vote in the state of Washington, provide a $10,000 surety bond to the state conditioned on faithful execution of the duties of office, and reside in the city of

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. Europea ...

, by the time of inauguration. Only the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, state treasurer and secretary of state are constitutionally required to live in the capital city.

Powers and duties

The secretary of state is in effect the guarantor of the continuity and stability of good government in Washington, with his or her role extending to the certification, filing, and preservation of public records, the supervision of all aspects of state and local elections, and the registration and regulatory oversight of businesses and charities.

Records management

The secretary of state is the keeper of the Seal of Washington as prescribed by the constitution, and as such is responsible for regulating its use and certifying to the official acts of the Legislature and governor. In this role, the secretary of state has additional duties related to the disposition of state honors and records including regulating the use of the Washington State flag and is an ''ex officio'' non-voting member of the committees for the Washington Medal of Valor and

the Washington Medal of Merit The Washington Medal of Merit is one of three statutory civilian decorations issued by the state of Washington, the others being the Washington Medal of Valor and the Washington Gift of Life Award (formerly the Washington Gift of Life Medal). Wa ...

. Similarly, the secretary of state directs and supervises Washington's state archives and state library. The state archives coordinates the preservation and management of public records across government, whereas the

state library A national library is established by the government of a nation to serve as the pre-eminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, they rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuab ...

maintains libraries in correctional and mental health institutions and supports scholarly study of its vast research collections.

Election administration

The Elections Division of the Office of the Secretary of State has general oversight of election administration throughout the state, with individual county auditors being responsible for candidate registration, ballot preparation, polling, and canvassing. The secretary of state exercises this constitutional power, duty, and authority as chief election officer by accrediting the balloting procedures used by each county, certifying the results of elections, verifying petition signatures used to qualify initiatives and referendums, and distributing the state voter's pamphlet and official notice of elections advertisements. Lobbying and campaign finance are separately regulated by the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission.

Business registration

The Corporations Division of the Office of the Secretary of State registers a variety of business associations by virtue of the secretary of state's role as

company register A company register is a register of organizations in the jurisdiction they operate under. A statistical business register has a different purpose than a company register. While a commercial/trade register serves a purpose of protection, account ...

, including

corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

limited liability companies A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...

limited liability partnership A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a partnership in which some or all partners (depending on the jurisdiction) have limited liabilities. It therefore can exhibit elements of partnerships and corporations. In an LLP, each partner is not ...

s, limited partnerships, assumed business names, and

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

s. The secretary also regulates charities and charitable trusts, including registering individuals, organizations and commercial fundraisers involved in charitable solicitations. Unlike in some other states however, the secretary of state is not responsible for commissioning

notaries A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

or recording liens or financing statements under the

Uniform Commercial Code The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), first published in 1952, is one of a number of Uniform Acts that have been established as law with the goal of harmonizing the laws of sales and other commercial transactions across the United States through U ...

. Those functions are instead performed by the Washington State Department of Licensing.

Miscellaneous duties

A variety of miscellaneous duties have been assigned to the secretary of state through statute, including coordination of the state's Address Confidentiality Program and administration of the state's workplace giving program, "the Combined Fund Drive". Constitutionally speaking, the Secretary of State is likewise second (behind the lieutenant governor) in the

line of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Governor of Washington The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.WA Const. art. III, § 2. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws,WA Const. art. III, § 5. the power to either a ...

List of Washington secretaries of state

The State of Washington has had a total of fifteen secretaries of state:

References

External links

Official homepage of the Washington Secretary of StateList of previous Washington Secretaries of StateWashington State Elections Top 2 Primary FAQ
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