Secretary of State of West Virginia

The Secretary of State of West Virginia is an elected office within the U.S. state of West Virginia state government. The secretary of state is responsible for overseeing the state's election process, including voter registration and election results reporting.

The current Secretary of State, Natalie Tennant (D-Kanawha Co.), was elected in November 2008 and assumed the office in January 2009.

Elections

The Office of Secretary of State is a publicly elected statewide position with elections held every four years. Elections are held in November and officers assume their duties the following January. There are no term limits for the office.

If the office of secretary of state becomes vacant, it is the duty of the governor to fill the position by appointment. The appointee serves until a new commissioner is elected.

Qualifications for being elected to the office are that one is a citizen entitled to vote, who has been a resident of West Virginia for at least the preceding 5 years.

Duties

The West Virginia Secretary of State is the smallest constitutional office in the state - physically, fiscally, and in terms of the number of staff.^[1] The duties of the office, though, are extensive. The primary responsibility of the secretary is to serve as the chief election officer. The "work horse" of the office is the business and licensing division, which registers, licenses, and keeps a database of all businesses, corporations, charities, notary publics, private investigators, and sports agents operating within West Virginia. The secretary also files public notices of all state agency meetings, sends official documents on behalf of the governor, and certifies gubernatorial proclamations by affixing the state seal and their signature to official documents.^[1]

Organization

The Secretary of State's Office is organized as follows:

• The Administrative Law Division is the official archive and clearinghouse for agency rules, notices, orders, decisions and other procedural documents. This division publishes the state's gazette, the West Virginia Register.
• The Business Organizations Division charters and maintains records for business entities and registers trademarks and service marks. This division also licenses lending institutions^[2] and purchasers of future payments.^[3]
• The Charities Division registers and regulates charitable organizations and professional fundraisers operating within the state.
• The Elections Division administers elections, implements state and federal election laws, and regulates campaign finance.
• The Executive Records Division maintains the records of official acts of the Governor, enrolled bills, surety bonds, oaths of office of state officials, as well as the records of some state agencies.
• The Notary Public Section licenses and monitors notaries public.
• The UCC Section files liens pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code.

The Secretary of State also serves as registered agents for service of process for certain types of defendants in lawsuits.^[4]

List of West Virginia Secretaries of State

Below is a list of West Virginia's Secretaries of State since 1863:

Name	Party	Term	Residence
Jacob Edgar Boyers	Republican	1863–1865	Tyler Co.
Granville D. Hall	Republican	1865–1867	Ohio Co.
John S. Witcher	Republican	1867–1869	Cabell Co.
James M. Pipes	Republican	1869–1871	Marshall Co.
John M. Phelps	Republican	1871–1873	Mason Co.
Charles Hedrick	Democratic	1873–1877	Kanawha Co.
Sobieski Brady	Democratic	1877–1881	Ohio Co.
Randolph Stalnaker	Democratic	1881–1885	Greenbrier Co.
Henry S. Walker	Democratic	1885–1890	Kanawha Co.
William A. Ohley*	Democratic	1890–1893	Marion Co.
William E. Chilton	Democratic	1893–1897	Kanawha Co.
William M.O. Dawson	Republican	1897–1905	Raleigh Co.
Charles Wesley Swisher	Republican	1905–1909	Marion Co.
Stuart F. Reed	Republican	1909–1917	Harrison Co.
Houston G. Young	Republican	1917–1925	Harrison Co.
George W. Sharp	Republican	1925–1933	Pocahontas Co.
William S. O'Brien	Democratic	1933–1948	Upshur Co.
Daniel Pitt O'Brien*	Democratic	1948–1957	Upshur Co.
Helen F. Holt	Republican	1957–1958	Lewis Co.
Joe F. Burdett*	Democratic	1958–1965	Mason Co.
Robert D. Bailey, Jr.	Democratic	1965–1969	Wyoming Co.
John D. Rockefeller, IV	Democratic	1969–1972	Kanawha Co.
Edgar F. Heiskell, III*	Republican	1972–1975	Barbour Co.
James R. McCartney	Republican	1975–1977	Monongalia Co.
A. James Manchin	Democratic	1977–1985	Marion Co.
Ken Hechler	Democratic	1985–2001	Grant Co.
Joe Manchin III	Democratic	2001–2005	Marion Co.
Betty Ireland	Republican	2005–2009	Kanawha Co.
Natalie Tennant	Democratic	2009–present	Kanawha Co.

*elected to fill unexpired term

See also

• List of company registers

References

1. West Virginia Secretary of State "Tennant talks elections, office duties with state Auditor Gainer (Video included)," Retrieved June 20, 2011
2. Credit Service Organization licensing, from the WV Secretary of State
3. Licensing of purchasers of future payments
4. Service of Process information

External links

• Official homepage of the West Virginia Secretary of State