Secretary of State of Rhode Island

The secretary of state of Rhode Island is an elected office in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of 2023, the current secretary of state is Gregg Amore.

Secretary of State of Rhode Island
Incumbent
Gregg Amore
since January 3, 2023
TypeSecretary of State
Formation1798
First holderSamuel Eddy
WebsiteOffice of the Rhode Island Secretary of State, official homepage

Powers and duties

The Rhode Island Department of State or is composed of five separate divisions:

  • The Elections and Civics Division prepares ballots, ensures accessibility of voting facilities, qualifies and certifies the names of all federal and state candidates for ballot placement, maintains a database of registered voters, and ensures compliance with the Help America Vote Act. Administration of elections and compliance with campaign finance laws is the responsibility of a separate state agency, the Rhode Island Board of Elections.
  • The Corporations Division is responsible for a wide range of business-related legal documents and filings, including formation of corporations and other business entities, liens and security interests under the Uniform Commercial Code, registration of notaries public, apostilles, trademarks and service marks, registration of businesses conducting games of chance, and various other documents required by state law.
  • The Public Information Division accepts many filings required to be made with the secretary of state, including lobbying disclosures, public meeting notices and minutes, disclosure of state government consultants, and appointments to boards and commissions, and other government information. This division also publishes the Rhode Island Government Owner's Manual, which gives a broad overview of various government offices and officials.
  • The Rhode Island State Archives is the official custodian and trustee for public records of permanent historical value.
  • The Rhode Island State Library, which was created in 1852 by a General Assembly resolution as part of the office of the secretary of state. Its purpose is to assist members of the General Assembly with research on the preparation of proposed legislation. The State Library also includes a law library.[1]

List of secretaries of state
List of officeholders[2]
Image Name Tenure Party
Henry Ward1775–1797
Samuel Eddy1798–1818Republican
Henry Bowen1819–1848Whig
Christopher E. Robbins1849–1850Whig
Asa Potter1851–1853Democrat
William R. Watson1854Whig
John Russell Bartlett1855–1871Republican
Joshua M. Addeman1872–1886Republican
Edwin D. McGuinness1887Democrat
Samuel H. Cross1888–1889
Edwin D. McGuinness1890Democrat
George H. Utter1891–1893Republican
Charles P. Bennett1894–1909Republican
J. Fred Parker1910–1923Republican
Ernest L. Sprague1924–1932Republican
Louis W. Cappelli1933–1938Democratic
J. Hector Paquin1939–1940Republican
Armand H. Cote1941–1956Democratic
John A. Notte, Jr.1957–1958Democratic
August P. LaFrance1959–1972Democratic
Robert F. Burns1973–1982Democratic
Susan Farmer1983–1986Republican
Kathleen S. Connell1987–1992Democratic
Barbara Leonard1993–1994Republican
James Langevin1995–2001Democratic
Edward S. Inman2001–2002Independent
Matthew A. Brown2003–2006Democratic
Ralph Mollis2007–2014Democratic
Nellie Gorbea2015–2023Democratic
Gregg Amore2023–presentDemocratic

See also

References
  1. RI State Library,Law and Legislation Section
  2. Office of Rhode Island Secretary of State, Historical Secretaries of State, accessed September 12, 2013
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.