Secretary of State of Washington

Secretary of State of Washington
Secretary of State of Washington
	Incumbent; Steve Hobbs; since November 22, 2021
Style	Mr. or Madam Secretary; (informal); The Honorable; (formal);
Seat	Washington State Capitol; Olympia, Washington
Term length	Four years, no term limits
Constituting instrument	Washington Constitution of 1889: Article II, Section 1; Article III, Sections 1, 3, 4, 10, 12, 15, 17, 18, and 24; Article IV, Sections 3 and 28; Article V, Section 2; Article XXVII, Section 12; and Article XXVIII, Section 1
Inaugural holder	Allan Weir
Formation	November 11, 1889; (134 years ago)
Salary	$134,640
Website	Official page

The secretary of state of Washington is an independently elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Washington. Fifteen individuals have held the office of Secretary of State since statehood. The incumbent is Steve Hobbs, a Democrat.^[3]

Qualifications

To hold office as Secretary of State, a person must be a United States citizen registered to vote in the state of Washington, provide a $10,000 surety bond to the state conditioned on faithful execution of the duties of office, and reside in the city of Olympia, Washington, by the time of inauguration. Only the governor, state treasurer and secretary of state are constitutionally required to live in the capital city.

Powers and duties

The secretary of state is in effect the guarantor of the continuity and stability of good government in Washington, with his or her role extending to the certification, filing, and preservation of public records, the supervision of all aspects of state and local elections, and the registration and regulatory oversight of businesses and charities.^[4]

Records management

The secretary of state is the keeper of the Seal of Washington as prescribed by the constitution, and as such is responsible for regulating its use and certifying to the official acts of the Legislature and governor.^[5]^[6] In this role, the secretary of state has additional duties related to the disposition of state honors and records. For example, the secretary of state regulates the use of the Washington State flag and is an ex officio non-voting member on the committees for the Washington Medal of Valor and the Washington Medal of Merit.^[7]^[8] Similarly, the secretary of state directs and supervises Washington's state archives and state library. The state archives coordinates the preservation and management of public records across government, whereas the state library maintains libraries in correctional and mental health institutions and supports scholarly study of its vast research collections.^[9]^[10]

Election administration

The Elections Division of the Office of the Secretary of State has general oversight of election administration throughout the state, with individual county auditors being responsible for candidate registration, ballot preparation, polling, and canvassing.^[11] The secretary of state exercises this constitutional power, duty, and authority as chief election officer by accrediting the balloting procedures used by each county, certifying the results of elections, verifying petition signatures used to qualify initiatives and referendums, and distributing the state voter's pamphlet and official notice of elections advertisements.^[12] Lobbying and campaign finance are separately regulated by the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission.^[13]

Business registration

The Corporations Division of the Office of the Secretary of State registers a variety of business associations by virtue of the secretary of state's role as company register, including corporations, cooperatives, limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships, limited partnerships, assumed business names, and trademarks.^[14]^[15] The secretary also regulates charities and charitable trusts, including registering individuals, organizations and commercial fundraisers involved in charitable solicitations.^[16] Unlike in some other states however, the secretary of state is not responsible for commissioning notaries or recording liens or financing statements under the Uniform Commercial Code. Those functions are instead performed by the Washington State Department of Licensing.^[17]^[18]

Miscellaneous duties

A variety of miscellaneous duties have been assigned to the secretary of state through statute, including coordination of the state's Address Confidentiality Program and administration of the state's workplace giving program, "the Combined Fund Drive".^[19]^[20] Constitutionally speaking, the Secretary of State is likewise second (behind the lieutenant governor) in the line of succession to the office of Governor of Washington.^[21]

List of Washington secretaries of state

The State of Washington has had a total of sixteen secretaries of state:^[22]

#	Name	Term	Party
1	Allan Weir	1890–1893	Republican
2	James Price	1893–1897	Republican
3	Will Jenkins	1897–1901	Populist
4	Sam Nichols	1901–1909	Republican
5	Ithamar Howell	1909–1920	Republican
6	Jay Hinkle	1920–1933	Republican
7	Ernest Hutchinson	1933–1938	Democratic
8	Belle Reeves	1938–1948	Democratic
9	Earl Coe	1948–1957	Democratic
10	Victor Aloysius Meyers	1957–1965	Democratic
11	Lud Kramer	1965–1975	Republican
12	Bruce Chapman	1975–1981	Republican
13	Ralph Munro	1981–2001	Republican
14	Sam Reed	2001–2013	Republican
15	Kim Wyman	2013–2021	Republican
16	Steve Hobbs	2021–present	Democratic