Secretary of State of Alabama

The Alabama Territory maintained an office of territorial secretary beginning in 1818. In 1819, Alabama became a state, and the position of secretary of state became a legislatively-appointed office with the incumbent subject to a term of two years. In 1868, the office became popularly-elective. In 1901, Alabama adopted a new constitution which extended the term of office to four years. == Duties and responsibilities ==

The office of secretary of state maintains several official state records including copies of state laws, gubernatorial orders, and incorporations, and is responsible for authenticating official copies of some documents. They are the keeper of the Great Seal of the State of Alabama, which is used in the authentication process. The secretary is also ex officio "Chief State Elections Official" for all federal, state, special, and constitutional electoral contests. ==Organization==

The secretary of state's office retains a staff of about 40 people. It is organized as follows: • The Executive Division administers the day-to-day operations of the secretary of state's office and also maintains the notaries public database and Civil Law Notaries. • The Business Services Division of the secretary of state's office is divided into two sections: Business Entities, which operates as a depository for records of domestic entities and foreign entities that have qualified to transact business in Alabama, and Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which operates a filing and retrieval center for UCC financing statements at the state level. • The Elections Division administers elections and campaign finance laws, including the preparation of ballots and implementation of state and federal election laws (such as the Help America Vote Act). • The Government Support/Authentications & Trademarks Division maintains the distribution of the Acts of Alabama, preserves the use of the state seal, licenses Athlete Agents, oversees trademarking, and authenticates documents with either an apostille or certification. • The Government Records Section is responsible for maintenance of legislative and other government records, including land titles. The state holds land titles going back to the date of statehood. • The Finance Division works with the Executive Division to discuss budgets and handle transactions with state vendors. • The Information Technology (IT) Division maintains the office's network security and runs the live Elections Night Reporting system during Alabama elections. The Alabama secretary of state's website also contains a public organizational chart that features a more in-depth depiction of each division and the titles of each staff member therein. ==Officeholders==

The current secretary of state is Republican Wes Allen from Pike County. Allen was elected secretary of state in November 2022, after serving one term in the Alabama House of Representatives from 2018 to 2022. Allen took office on January 16, 2023, succeeding John Merrill, who was first elected in 2014 and served from 2015 to 2023. From 1944 to 1979, the office was held by five different women, the first of whom was Sibyl Pool. Agnes Baggett was the longest serving secretary of state, having been elected to three non-consecutive terms. The parties are as follows: (D) and (R), or . Notes: • First native-born Alabamian to serve as Secretary of State. • Switched to Republican Party in 1998. ==References==