From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Secretary of State of Kentucky

Constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Kentucky

Field	Value
post	Secretary of State
body	Kentucky
insignia	Seal of Kentucky.svg
insigniasize	150
insigniacaption	Seal of Kentucky
image	Michael Adams.jpg
imagesize	200px
incumbent	Michael Adams
incumbentsince	January 6, 2020
termlength	4 years
formation	Kentucky Constitution
1792
inaugural	James Brown
June 5, 1792
website
salary	$124,113.60

1792 June 5, 1792 The secretary of state of Kentucky is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is an elected office, but was an appointed office prior to 1891. The incumbent secretary of state is Republican Michael Adams, who was elected on November 5, 2019; he took office on January 6, 2020.

History and name of position

Despite the fact that Kentucky designates itself a commonwealth, the office itself is still referred to as "Secretary of State" (unlike Virginia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, which refer to the office as "Secretary of the Commonwealth"). The office was created by Article II, Section 17 of the Kentucky Constitution of 1792 simply as "the secretary". Article III, Section 21, of the Kentucky Constitution of 1850 changed the title of the office to Secretary of State.

Section 91 of the Kentucky Constitution of 1891 (the most recent state constitution), changed the method by which the secretary of state is selected. Prior to 1891, the secretary was appointed by the governor; under the present Constitution, the secretary of state is elected by the qualified voters of the state. The most recent election was in 2023. In 1992, the Constitution was amended to allow the secretary of state to serve two successive terms.

Emma Guy Cromwell ran for the office of Secretary of State, defeating another woman, Mary Elliott Flanery, and two men in the 1923 Democratic primary. In the general election, Cromwell went on to defeat her Republican opponent, Eleanor Wickliffe. She was sworn in on January 10, 1924, and became the first woman elected to statewide office in Kentucky.

Structure and duties of the office

The secretary of state's office is composed of five divisions:

The Business Services Division is responsible for maintaining records regarding creation and status of corporations and business entities, registration of trademarks and service marks, recording liens made pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code.
The Elections Division certifies the name, party affiliation and ballot position of all candidates filed with him to the appropriate county clerks for ballot printing. The actual administration of elections is conducted by a separate, independent agency, the Kentucky State Board of Elections, of which the secretary of state serves as chair.
The Administrative Services Division appoints notaries public, issues apostilles, and serves as the registered agent for service of process in cases involving foreign corporations, as well as service of summons and petitions in actions against non-resident motorists.
Kentucky Land Office is an archive of land patents and land grants dating back to the colonial era.
Executive Branch of the Office of the Secretary of State files and maintains legislation passed by the Kentucky General Assembly and executive orders of the governor of Kentucky, including appointments to the Order of Kentucky Colonels. This division is also the keeper of the Seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the personal seal of the secretary of state.

List of secretaries of state of Kentucky

#	Image	Name	Term of office	Party
1	[[File:Senator James Brown of Louisiana (1766-1835).jpg	60px]]	James Brown	1792–1796	Democratic-Republican
2		Harry Toulmin	1796–1804	Democratic-Republican
3	[[File:John Rowan.jpg	60px]]	John Rowan	1804–1807	Democratic-Republican
4		Alfred W. Grayson	1807–1808
5		William C. Greenup	1808
6	[[File:Jesse Bledsoe.jpg	60px]]	Jesse Bledsoe	1808–1812	Democratic-Republican
7		Fielding Winlock	1812
8	[[File:Martin D Hardin.jpg	60px]]	Martin D. Hardin	1812	Democratic-Republican
9	[[File:Christopher Greenup.jpg	60px]]	Christopher Greenup	1813	Democratic-Republican
10	[[File:Martin D Hardin.jpg	60px]]	Martin D. Hardin	1813–1816	Democratic-Republican
11	[[File:Charles S. Todd (US Minister to Russia).jpg	60px]]	Charles Stewart Todd	1816	Democratic-Republican
12	[[File:AR Pope John.jpg	60px]]	John Pope	1816–1819	Democratic-Republican
13	[[File:Oliver G. Waggener.jpg	frameless	60px]]	Oliver G. Waggener	1819–1820
14		Cabell Breckinridge	1820–1823	Democratic-Republican
15		Thomas Bell Monroe	1823–1824	Democratic-Republican
16	[[File:William T. Barry by C.B. King.jpg	60px]]	William T. Barry	1824–1825	Democratic-Republican
17		James C. Pickett	1825–1828	Democratic-Republican
18	[[File:Rep George Robertson cropped.jpg	60px]]	George Robertson	1828	Democratic-Republican
19		Thomas T. Crittenden	1828–1832
20		John F. McCurdy	1832
21		Lewis Sanders	1832–1834
22	[[File:John J Crittenden.jpg	60px]]	John Jordan Crittenden	1834–1835	National Republican
23	[[File:William-Owsley-sketch.jpg	60px]]	William Owsley	1835–1836	National Republican
24		Austin P. Cox	1836
25		James M. Bullock	1836–1840
26	[[File:James Harlan (Kentucky attorney general).jpg	60px]]	James Harlan	1840–1844	Whig
27	[[File:Benjamin-Hardin-sketch.jpg	60px]]	Benjamin Hardin	1844–1846	Whig
28		George B. Kinkead	1846–1847	Whig
29		William Decatur Reed	1847–1848	Whig
30	[[File:Orlando Brown, attributed to George Harrison Hite.jpg	60px]]	Orlando Brown	1848–1849	Whig
31	[[File:Joshua-Fry-Bell.jpg	60px]]	Joshua Fry Bell	1849–1850	Whig
32		John William Finnell	1850–1851	Whig
33	[[File:David Meriwether.jpg	60px]]	David Meriwether	1851–1852	Democratic
34		James P. Metcalfe	1852–1854	Democratic
35		Grant Green	1854–1855	Democratic
36		Mason Brown	1855–1859	American
37		Thomas Bell Monroe Jr.	1859–1861	Democratic
38		Nathaniel Gaither	1861–1862	Democratic
39		Daniel C. Wickliffe	1862–1863	Democratic
40	[[File:Ephraim L. Van Winkle.jpg	60px]]	Ephraim L. Van Winkle	1863–1866
41		John S. Van Winkle	1866–1867
42	[[File:Samuel B. Churchill Kentucky Secretary of State.jpg	60px]]	Samuel B. Churchill	1867–1871	Democratic
43		Andrew Jackson James	1871–1872	Democratic
44		George Washington Craddock	1872–1875	Democratic
45	[[File:Josiah Stoddard Johnston.png	60px]]	J. Stoddard Johnston	1875–1879	Democratic
46	[[File:Samuel B. Churchill Kentucky Secretary of State.jpg	60px]]	Samuel B. Churchill	1879–1880	Democratic
47	[[File:James W. Blackburn Kentucky Secretary of State.jpg	60px]]	James W. Blackburn	1880–1883	Democratic
48	[[File:James-A.-McKenzie.jpg	60px]]	James A. McKenzie	1883–1887	Democratic
49	[[File:George Madison Adams LOC.jpg	60px]]	George Madison Adams	1887–1891	Democratic
50		Willis Lunsford Ringo	1891	Democratic
51		John W. Headley	1891–1896	Democratic
52	[[File:Charles Finley (Kentucky Congressman).jpg	60px]]	Charles Finley	1896–1899	Republican
53		John W. Headley	1899	Democratic
54	[[File:Charles Finley (Kentucky Congressman).jpg	60px]]	Charles Finley	1899	Republican
55	[[File:Caleb Powers 2.jpg	60px]]	Caleb Powers	1899–1900	Republican
56	[[File:Caleb Breckinridge Hill.png	60px]]	Caleb Breckinridge Hill	1900–1904	Democratic
57		Harry V. McChesney	1904–1908	Democratic
58		Ben L. Bruner	1908–1912	Republican
59		Carl F. Crecelius	1912–1916	Democratic
60	[[File:Sec. of State of Kentucky James P. Lewis.png	60px]]	James P. Lewis	1916–1920	Republican
61	[[File:Secretary of State of Kentucky Fred A. Vaugn.jpg	60px]]	Fred A. Vaughn	1920–1924	Republican
62	[[File:EmmaGuyCromwell-KYsecyofState.jpg	60px]]	Emma Guy Cromwell	1924–1928	Democratic
63		Ella Lewis	1928–1932	Democratic
64		Sara W. Mahan	1932–1936	Democratic
65		Charles D. Arnett	1936–1940	Democratic
66		George G. Hatcher	1940–1944	Democratic
67		Charles K. O'Connell	1944–1948	Democratic
68		George G. Hatcher	1948–1952	Democratic
69		Charles K. O'Connell	1952–1956	Democratic
70	[[File:Kentucky Secretary of state Thelma Stovall 1967.jpg	60px]]	Thelma Stovall	1956–1960	Democratic
71	[[File:Henry H. Carter Secretary of State of Kentucky.jpg	60px]]	Henry H. Carter	1960–1964	Democratic
72	[[File:Kentucky Secretary of state Thelma Stovall 1967.jpg	60px]]	Thelma Stovall	1964–1968	Democratic
73	[[File:Elmer Begley.jpg	60px]]	Elmer Begley	1968–1970	Republican
74	[[File:Leila Feltner Begley.jpg	60px]]	Leila Feltner Begley	1970–1971	Republican
75		Kenneth F. Harper	1971–1972	Republican
76	[[File:Kentucky Secretary of state Thelma Stovall 1967.jpg	60px]]	Thelma Stovall	1972–1976	Democratic
77		Drexell R. Davis	1976–1980	Democratic
78		Frances Jones Mills	1980–1984	Democratic
79		Drexell R. Davis	1984–1988	Democratic
80		Bremer Ehrler	1988–1992	Democratic
81	[[File:Bob Babbage.jpg	60px]]	Bob Babbage	1992–1996	Democratic
82		John Young Brown III	1996–2004	Democratic
83	[[File:Trey Grayson official photo.jpg	60px]]	Trey Grayson	2004–2011	Republican
84		Elaine Walker	2011–2012	Democratic
85	[[File:Alison Lundergan Grimes by Gage Skidmore (1).jpg	60px]]	Alison Lundergan Grimes	2012–2020	Democratic
86	[[File:Michael Adams.jpg	60px]]	Michael Adams	2020–present	Republican

References

(August 4, 2018). "Transparency.ky.gov – Salary Search".
[http://sos.ky.gov/executive/ Executive Branch of the Office of the Secretary of State—History of the office]
[http://apps.sos.ky.gov/secdesk/sosinfo/sostimeline.aspx Timeline of legal changes to the Office of Secretary of State]
"Secretary of State: Emma Guy Cromwell". Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

secretaries-of-state-of-kentucky

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Secretary of State of Kentucky — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report