The secretary of state of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of government of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, is first in line of succession to the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. The duties of the office are auditor of public accounts, chief elections officer, and administrator of public records. Additionally, the secretary of state serves on the

Oregon State Land Board The Department of State Lands (DSL), one of the oldest agencies of government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is principally responsible for the management of lands under state ownership, as its name implies. Unlike most other department-level state a ...

and chairs the Oregon Sustainability Board. Following every United States Census, if the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

cannot come to agreement over changes to legislative redistricting, the duty falls to the secretary of state. The current secretary of state is Democrat

Shemia Fagan Shemia Patricia Fagan (born September 20, 1981) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Oregon secretary of state. She previously served as a Democratic member of the Oregon Senate, representing Senate District 24 from in 2019 to ...

, who was sworn in on January 4, 2021 in her 4th grade classroom in

Dufur, Oregon Dufur is a city in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 604 at the 2010 census. It is a farming community where wheat, tree fruit, and grapes are important crops. History Dufur was incorporated on February 10, 1893, and named ...

Divisions

* Archives Division maintains the official records of Oregon government, provides public access to them, and publishes the ''

Oregon Blue Book The ''Oregon Blue Book'' is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon prepared by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. The ''Blue Book'' comes in both print and on ...

'' and the ''Oregon Administrative Rules.'' Established in 1947, the division is located in the Cecil L. Edwards Archives Building in downtown Salem on the capitol mall. * Audits Division provides oversight of public spending. The department began in 1929 and oversees state agency compliance with accounting rules, reports on the performance of state departments, and oversees the standards for audits of local governments within Oregon, among other tasks.Oregon Audits Division.
Oregon Secretary of State Audits Division, accessed February 16, 2012. * Corporation Division handles filings relating to company law, including formation of

corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

s and other businesses and organizations, and other matters related to the

Uniform Commercial Code The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), first published in 1952, is one of a number of Uniform Acts that have been established as law with the goal of harmonizing the laws of sales and other commercial transactions across the United States through UC ...

. They are also in charge of operating the notaries public system. * Elections Division performs administrative and oversight duties with respect to elections in concert with the County governments, maintains a central voter registry, and publishes the ''Voters' Pamphlet.'' These duties include working with the referendum, initiative, and recall process and accepting the registration of candidates for elective office. * Executive Division oversees the other four divisions of the office. The Secretary of State's office is located in the

Oregon State Capitol The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the state legislature and the offices of the governor, secretary of state, and treasurer of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in the state capitol, Salem. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 ...

in Salem.

List of Oregon secretaries of state

Provisional government (1841–1849)

Five individuals served as clerk and recorder, the predecessor office to secretary of state: *

George W. LeBreton George W. LeBreton (1810 – March 4, 1844) was a pioneer politician in the Oregon Country and served as the official recorder in the Provisional Government of Oregon. Early life LeBreton was born in 1810 in Massachusetts.

, February 18, 1841 – March 4, 1844 * Overton Johnson, March 4, 1844 – May 25, 1844 *

John E. Long John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, May 25, 1844 – June 21, 1846 *

Frederick Prigg Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederic ...

, June 26, 1846 – September 16, 1848 * Samuel M. Holderness, September 19, 1848 – March 10, 1849

Territorial government (1849–1859)

Oregon's first territorial secretary was elected by the legislature, to serve until his successors could be appointed by President Lisbet Falero

State government (1859–present)

List of living secretaries of state

, six former secretaries of state were alive. The most recent death of a secretary of state was that of

Norma Paulus Norma Jean Paulus (née Petersen; March 13, 1933 – February 28, 2019) was an American lawyer and politician in the state of Oregon. A native of Nebraska, she was raised in Eastern Oregon before becoming a lawyer. A Republican, she first h ...

(1977–1985) on February 28, 2019. The most recently serving secretary of state to die was Dennis Richardson (2017–2019), who died in office on February 26, 2019.

References

* *

External links

* {{Oregon statewide elected officials * 1859 establishments in Oregon