The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's other constitutional officers; the officeholder is restricted by term limits to two terms. The current secretary of state is Shirley Weber, who assumed the role in 2021 after Alex Padilla's appointment to the US Senate.
Duties Elections
The secretary of state is California's chief elections officer, overseeing all federal and state elections in the state and maintaining a database of registered voters. The officeholder is also responsible for disclosure of campaign and lobbyist financial information, under the California Political Reform Act of 1974.
Corporations
The Office of the Secretary of State has a number of responsibilities related to corporations; the largest portion office is the Business Programs Division, which handles corporate filings. The Business Entities Section processes, files and maintains records related to corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and other business entities conducting or planning to conduct business in California.
Registries The office also maintains a number of registries, including the Safe at Home confidential address program and the Domestic Partners and Advance Health Care Directive. Other roles of the secretary of state include safeguarding the California State Archives and sitting on the board of trustees of the California Museum, though the officeholder has not been responsible for the California State Library since 1862.
Organization The Secretary of State's Office is divided into six main divisions: Executive Division, which also includes the Office of Elections Cybersecurity and the Office of Voting Systems Technology Assessment. Elections Division Political Reform Division, which maintains the registry of lobbyists, campaign finances, etc. Management Services Division, which includes accounting, human resources, building operations, etc. Business Programs Division, which handles the registration of companies, notary services, etc. State Archives, which also administers the State Museum that is a part of the Secretary of State's headquarters in downtown Sacramento.
The Secretary of State's Office also works in conjunction with the state Voting Modernization Board.
List of secretaries of state of California # Image Name Term of office Party1William Van Voorhies 1849–1853DemocraticJames W. Denver1853–1855Democratic3Charles H. Hempstead1855–1856Democratic4David F. Douglass1856–1858American5Ferris Foreman1858–1860Democratic6Johnson Price1860–1862Democratic7William H. Weeks1862–1863Republican8A. A. H. Tuttle1863Republican9Benjamin B. Redding1863–1867Unionist Republican10Henry L. Nichols1867–1871Democratic11Drury Melone1871–1875Republican12Thomas Beck1875–1880Democratic13Daniel M. Burns1880–1883Republican14Thomas Larkin Thompson1883–1887Democratic15William C. Hendricks1887–1891Democratic16Edwin G. Waite1891–1894Republican17Albert Hart1894–1895Republican18Lewis H. Brown1895–1899Republican19Charles F. Curry1899–1911Republican20Frank C. Jordan1911–1940Republican21Paul Peek1940–1943Democratic22Frank M. Jordan1943–1970RepublicanActingH. P. Sullivan1970–1971Republican23Jerry Brown1971–1975Democratic24March Fong Eu1975–1994DemocraticActingTony Miller1994–1995Democratic25Bill Jones1995–2003Republican26Kevin Shelley2003–2005DemocraticActingCathy Mitchell2005Democratic27Bruce McPherson2005–2007Republican28Debra Bowen2007–2015Democratic29Alex Padilla2015–2021DemocraticActingJames Schwab2021Democratic30Shirley Weber2021–presentDemocratic
See also Government of California Politics of California Impeachment in California
References
External links
California Secretary of State Business Entities