The Secretary of State of Nevada is a statewide elected office in the

State of Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, t ...

. The secretary of state post is common to many

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 ...

s. In Nevada, it is a constitutional office (i.e., it is mandated by the

Constitution of Nevada The Constitution of the State of Nevada is the organic law of the state of Nevada, and the basis for Nevada's statehood as one of the United States. History The Nevada Constitution was created in 1864 at a convention on July 4 in Carson City. T ...

). The current Secretary of State,

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Barbara Cegavske Barbara Katherine Cegavske (née Jewson; born August 27, 1951) is an American businesswoman and politician, who is the former Secretary of State of Nevada from 2015 to 2023. She was a Republican member of the Nevada Senate, representing Clark Coun ...

, was elected in 2014. Cegavske was preceded by

Ross Miller Ross James Miller (born March 26, 1976) is an American Attorney at law, attorney and politician. He is a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, currently the Clark County Commissioner for District C since 2021, the former Secretary of State ...

, who served as Secretary of State from 2007 to 2015.

Organization

The Nevada Secretary of State's Office is composed of five divisions: * The Commercial Recordings Division has offices in

Carson City Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

and

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. It registers business organizations and keeps their documentation up to date. This division also registers

trade name A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

service mark A service mark or servicemark is a trademark used in the United States and several other countries to identify a service rather than a product. When a service mark is federally registered, the standard registration symbol ® or "Reg U.S. ...

s, rights of publicity, and filings pursuant 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 ...

. * The Elections Division is located in the Capitol Building in Carson City. The Division certifies candidates, registers and files Candidate Contribution and Expenditure Reports, certifies ballot questions, supervises

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

s, and reports and certifies the results of state primary and general elections. The Division also administers the state's Confidential Address Program for victims of

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

. * The Notary Division of the Secretary of State's office is responsible for appointing, training, and disciplining the notaries public within the state of Nevada. The Division is also charged with administering the state's

digital signature A digital signature is a mathematical scheme for verifying the authenticity of digital messages or documents. A valid digital signature, where the prerequisites are satisfied, gives a recipient very high confidence that the message was created b ...

laws and with notarizing

apostille The Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, also known as the Apostille Convention, is an international treaty drafted by the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). It ...

s. The Division is located in Carson City. * The Operations Division of the Secretary of State’s office manages important internal functions of the office including accounting, budget and information technology (IT). This division is responsible for the office’s $20 million budget and more than $100 million in annual revenues realized by the office. The IT component oversees the development and maintenance of the electronic Secretary of State (eSoS) application, statewide voter database, the agency’s website and other important applications and tools. * The Securities Division is located in Las Vegas, with a satellite office in Reno. The Securities Division is charged with the regulation of the state's securities industry. The Division licenses individuals who sell securities, registers securities offerings, and enforces the civil and criminal provisions of the state's securities laws. The Securities Division also is tasked with licensing sports agents, pursuant to the Athletes Agent Act of 2001.

Other duties

The Secretary of State acts as the official record-keeper of the state of Nevada, and is the keeper of the State Seal of Nevada. The Secretary also maintains the official bond of the state treasurer, and serves on the State Board of Prison Commissioners, the State Board of Examiners, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board, the State Records Committee, the State Advisory Committee on Participatory Democracy and the Executive Branch Audit Committee. The Secretary also maintains the state's registry of

living will ''Living Will'' is an American comedy film starring Ryan Dunn, Gerard Haitz and April Scott. Cast *Ryan Dunn - Belcher *Gerard Haitz - Will *April Scott - Krista Production In 2011, the domestic distribution rights to the film were purchased ...

s and

advance medical directive An advance healthcare directive, also known as living will, personal directive, advance directive, medical directive or advance decision, is a legal document in which a person specifies what actions should be taken for their health if they are no ...

s, and maintains a list of

ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

and

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

in the state.

Additional

In 2004, under the leadership of then Secretary of State

Dean Heller Dean Arthur Heller (born May 10, 1960) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator for Nevada from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 15th secretary of state of Nevada from 1995 ...

, Nevada became the first state in the nation to implement an auditable paper trail to electronic voting machines.Farhad Manjoo
"The downloading of the president '04"
, ''Salon'', August 24, 2004

List of secretaries of state

Secretaries of state of the
Territory of Nevada The Territory of Nevada (N.T.) was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until October 31, 1864, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Nevada. Prior to the creation of the Nevada T ...

Secretaries of state of the
State of Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, t ...

References

* {{Nevada statewide elected officials