The secretary of state of Wyoming is the

state secretary of state The 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 secreta ...

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 ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...

. It is a constitutional office, established under the Constitution of Wyoming and the secretary of state accedes to the governorship in case of a vacancy. The secretary of state is the keeper of the Great Seal of Wyoming and the state's official record-keeper. When 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 ...

is traveling out-of-state, the secretary of state serves as acting governor (Wyoming has no

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

). Karen Wheeler served as acting secretary of state following the vacancy of Ed Murray, until the appointment of

Edward Buchanan Edward Allen Buchanan (born October 19, 1967) is an American politician, attorney, and military veteran, who served as the Wyoming Secretary of State from 2018 to 2022. Prior to being Secretary of State, Buchanan was a member and past Speaker ...

in March, 2018, who himself resigned September 17, 2022. The secretary of state's office is divided into five divisions:Duties of Wyoming Officials
*The Administrative Services Division keeps track of the money for the other parts of the office. This division is also responsible for the registration of notaries public,

apostille The Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, also known as the Apostille Convention, is an international treaty drafted by the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). ...

s and document authentication, and is the official registrar for all state

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. ...

s. *The Business Division files information about businesses, including charters of

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 ...

s and other business entities, and

lien A lien ( or ) 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. The owner of the property, who grants the lien, is referred to as the ''lienee'' and the per ...

s made pursuant to 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 ...

. This division also registers

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 ot ...

s and

trade name A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...

s, and is responsible for licensing Wyoming's official trademark, the

Bucking Horse and Rider The Bucking Horse and Rider (BH&R) is a registered trademark of the U.S. state of Wyoming. In 1936, Wyoming trademarked the image for the state's license plates. However, the state's usage of the logo can be traced back to as early as 1918. Wyomi ...

. *The Compliance Division oversees the

securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

industry in the state, investigates violations of

securities laws Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the stability and integrity of the financial system. This may be handled ...

, and provides financial education to the public. *The Elections Division administers elections. This task includes recording voting results for statewide elections and ensuring compliance with

campaign finance Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, and political a ...

laws and state and federal election laws. This division is also responsible for the registration of

lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

s. *The Technology Division maintains the secretary of state's employees' computer equipment and programs, and maintains the secretary's

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and W ...

Officeholders

Amos W. Barber became the first Wyoming secretary of state on November 8, 1890. Prior officeholders were known as Wyoming secretaries of the territory.

Wyoming secretaries of the territory

Wyoming secretaries of state

References

{{Wyoming statewide political officials *

Officeholders

Wyoming secretaries of the territory

Wyoming secretaries of state

See also

References