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Secretary of State of Maine

Political office in Maine

Political office in Maine

FieldValue
postSecretary of State
bodyMaine
insigniacaptionSeal of the Maine Secretary of State
imageShenna Bellows 2 by 3.jpg
incumbentShenna Bellows
styleMadam Secretary (informal)
The Honorable (formal)
incumbentsinceJanuary 4, 2021
termlength2 years
salary$100,339
formationMarch 15, 1820
successionThird
inauguralAshur Ware
website
flagFlag of Maine.svg
flagcaptionFlag of the State of Maine
deputyChief Deputy Secretary of State
seatNash School Building
Augusta, Maine
appointerState legislature

The Honorable (formal) Augusta, Maine

The secretary of state of Maine is a constitutional officer in the U.S. state of Maine and serves as the head of the Maine Department of State. The secretary of state performs duties of both a legislative branch as well as an executive branch officer. The role oversees areas that include motor vehicle licensing, state identification, record keeping, and corporate chartering.

The secretary of state is elected biannually by ballot of members of both houses of the Maine Legislature assembled together, identical in procedure to its neighbor, New Hampshire. The position is elected at the start of the first session of the Maine Legislature, which also sits for a two-year term, concurrent with the other constitutional officers of Maine.

The incumbent secretary of state is Shenna Bellows, who took office on January 4, 2021.

Duties

The secretary of state oversees three distinct areas within their department. These coincide with the three bureaus under their aegis: the Maine Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions, Maine State Archives and Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Corporations, elections, and commissions

The secretary of state has oversight over the conduct of elections, petition filing, and state-wide ballot initiatives. They are responsible for applying campaign conduct law against candidates for office. The secretary reviews petitions to verify authenticity of signatures for ballot initiatives under the Maine Constitution.

The secretary of state also oversees and applies the state's corporation law. Corporations seeking to be chartered in Maine do so through the secretary's office. The secretary has oversight over Maine's commercial law and application of the Uniform Commercial Code.

The secretary's office appoints and regulates the state's notaries public.

State archives

The secretary maintains laws passed in the state and all records of the legislature, state agencies, election returns, vital statistics, county court rulings, and Supreme Judicial Court rulings and proceedings.

Motor vehicles

The secretary oversees the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles and is thus responsible for overseeing identification, motor vehicle registration, vehicle inspections, and other forms of licensing.

List of secretaries of state

The following officials have served as secretary of state of Maine:

TenureImageSecretary of StateHometownPartyNotes
1820–1821[[File:Ware 1848.jpg60px]]Ashur WarePortlandDemocratic-Republican
1822–1828Amos NicholsAugustaDemocratic-Republican
1829–1830Edward RussellNorth YarmouthNational Republican
1831–1834Roscoe GreenePortlandDemocratic
1835–1837Asaph NicholsAugustaDemocratic
1838[[File:Samuel Page Benson (Maine Congressman).jpg60px]]Samuel P. BensonWinthropWhig
1839Asaph NicholsAugustaDemocratic
1840Philip C. JohnsonAugustaDemocratic
1841[[File:Samuel Page Benson (Maine Congressman).jpg60px]]Samuel P. BensonWinthropDemocratic
1842–1844Philip C. JohnsonAugustaDemocratic
1845William B. HartwellAugustaDemocratic
1846–1849Ezra B. FrenchDamariscottaDemocratic
1850–1853John G. SawyerAugustaDemocratic
1854–1855Alden JacksonAugustaWhig
1856Caleb AyerCornishDemocratic
1857Alden JacksonAugustaDemocratic
1858–1860Noah Smith, Jr.CalaisRepublican
1861–1863Joseph B. HallPresque IsleRepublican
1864–1867Ephraim Flint, Jr.DoverRepublican
1868–1871[[File:Franklin M. Drew (Maine Secretary of State).jpg60px]]Franklin M. DrewBrunswickRepublican
1872–1874George G. StacyRichmondRepublicanResigned
1875[[File:SPerham.jpg60px]]Sidney PerhamParis, MaineRepublicanPreviously served as governor.
1876–1878[[File:Photo SOS 009 S.JChadb.jpg60px]]S. J. ChadbourneDixmontDemocratic
1879[[File:Photo SOS 010 Edward H Gove Biddeford 1879 1880 206946.jpg60px]]Edward H. GoveBiddefordGreenback
1880[[File:Photo SOS 009 S.JChadb.jpg60px]]S. J. ChadbourneAugustaRepublican
1881–1884[[File:Joseph O. Smith (Maine Secretary of State).jpg60px]]Joseph O. SmithAugustaRepublican
1885–1890[[File:Photo SOS 012 Oramandal Smith Litchfield 1885 1891 206946.jpg60px]]Ormandel SmithLitchfieldRepublican
1891–1896[[File:Nicholas Fessenden.jpg60px]]Nicholas FessendenFort FairfieldRepublican
1897–1906[[File:Photo SOS 014 Byron Boyd Augusta 1897 1907 206946.jpg60px]]Byron BoydAugustaRepublican
1907–1910[[File:Arthur I. Brown (Maine Secretary of State).jpg60px]]Arthur I. BrownBelfastRepublican
1911–1912[[File:Cyrus W. Davis death-entire article (cropped).jpg60px]]Cyrus W. DavisWatervilleDemocrat
1913–1914Joseph E. AlexanderRichmondRepublican
1915–1916John E. BunkerEdenDemocrat
1917–1926Frank W. BallDoverRepublican
1927–1932Edgar C. SmithAugustaRepublican
1933–1934Robinson C. TobeyAugustaRepublican
1935–1936[[File:LewisBarrows.jpg60px]]Lewis O. BarrowsNewportRepublican
1937–1941Frederick RobieGorhamRepublican
1942–1960[[File:Harold I. Goss (Maine secretary of state).jpg60px]]Harold I. GossGardinerRepublicanLongest-serving Maine Secretary of State
1961–1964[[File:Photo SOS 025 Paul A MacDonald.jpg60px]]Paul A. MacDonaldCoopers MillsRepublican
1965–1966[[File:Photo SOS 026 Kenneth M Curtis.jpg60px]]Kenneth M. CurtisCape ElizabethDemocratic
1967–1974[[File:Photo SOS 027 Joseph T. Edgar Farmingdale 1967 1974 206946.jpg60px]]Joseph T. EdgarFarmingdaleRepublican
1975–1978Markham L. GartleyGreenvilleDemocraticRan unsuccessfully for Congress against Olympia Snowe in 1978.
1979–1988Rodney S. QuinnAugustaDemocratic
1989–1996[[File:Bill Diamond.jpg60px]]William DiamondWindhamDemocratic
1997–2004Dan GwadoskyFairfieldDemocratic
2005–2010[[File:Matthew Dunlap.jpg60px]]Matthew DunlapOld TownDemocratic
2011–2012[[File:Charles E. Summers II.jpg60px]]Charlie SummersScarboroughRepublican
2013–2021[[File:Matthew Dunlap.jpg60px]]Matthew DunlapOld TownDemocratic
2021–present[[File:Shenna Bellows.jpg60px]]Shenna BellowsManchesterDemocraticIncumbent, First woman to serve as Secretary of State

References

References

  1. "Maine State Constitution".
  2. "State Constitution - Secretary, Treasurer, Etc. {{!}} NH.gov".
  3. (2021-01-04). "Shenna Bellows makes history as Maine's first woman Secretary of State".
  4. "Maine Secretary of State".
  5. "Maine Department of the Secretary of State".
  6. "Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions".
  7. "Bureau of Motor Vehicles".
  8. "Maine Secretaries of State, 1820 - {{!}} Maine State Legislature".
  9. (1918). "Maine Register, State Year-book and Legislative Manual". Tower Publishing Company.
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