Secretary of State of Colorado

The secretary of state of Colorado is the secretary of state of the state of Colorado in the United States. The office is one of five elected constitutional offices in the state. The current secretary of state is Democrat Jena Griswold.

Secretary of State of Colorado
Incumbent
Jena Griswold
since January 8, 2019
Colorado Department of State
Constituting instrumentColorado Constitution
FormationJune 6, 1861
First holderLewis Weld
Websitewww.sos.state.co.us

Structure

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The Secretary of State heads the Colorado Department of State, a principal department of the Colorado state government, which is composed of four divisions:

  • Business & Licensing Division:[1] Files documents for certain business organizations and business names; files trade names for certain business entities; registers trademarks, and files financing statements and notices of security interests in agricultural products pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code, federal tax liens; and other miscellaneous statutory liens; performs searches of those records; provides copies of filed documents; issues related certificates; and provides pertinent educational services. Issues bingo/raffle licenses and inspects facilities and operations of these games to ensure compliance with bingo/raffle laws; commissions and regulates notaries public; registers charitable organizations that solicit contributions in Colorado and their professional fundraisers; publishes the Colorado administrative rules code and register, and provides rulemaking guidance for state agencies.
  • Elections Division: Supervises elections, maintains the statewide voter registration file, verifies initiative petition signatures, and administers the campaign finance laws; and serves as the filing office for unincorporated communities and for conflict of interest disclosure statements.
  • Administration Division: Provides management and central support services for the Department of State such as budgeting, accounting, and human resources; monitors the use of the state seal,[2] certifies the interest rate on appealed money judgments, files acts passed by the General Assembly, and conveys information within the office to the public; plans and monitors legislation that affects the Department of State; responds to inquiries from the press and public; licenses entities that circulate petitions; and registers lobbyists.
  • Information Technology Division: Supports the information systems needs of the entire secretary of state's office. Maintains the departmental infrastructure consisting of multiple servers, personal computers, networking equipment, firewall, telephony, peripherals, and other information technology equipment to support the data and imaging needs of the department. Also supports the web presence of the secretary of state.

Secretaries of the Territory of Colorado

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Image Name Term Party
Lewis Ledyard Weld 1861   Republican
  Samuel Hitt Elbert 1862-1866   Republican
Frank Hall 1866–1874   Republican
John W. Jenkins 1874–1875   Republican
John Taffe 1875–1876   Republican

Secretaries of the State of Colorado

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Image Name Term Party
William Clark 1876–1879   Republican
Norman H. Meldrum 1879–1883   Republican
Melvin Edwards 1883–1887   Republican
James Rice 1887–1891   Republican
Edward J. Eaton 1891–1893   Republican
Nelson O. McCless 1893–1895   Populist
Albert B. McGaffey 1895–1897   Republican
Charles H.S. Whipple 1897–1899   Democratic
Elmer F. Beckwith 1899–1901   Democratic
David A. Mills 1901–1903   Democratic
James Cowie 1903–1907   Republican
Timothy O'Connor 1907–1909   Republican
James B. Pearce 1909–1915   Democratic
John E. Ramer 1915–1917   Republican
James R. Noland 1917–1921   Democratic
Carl Miliken 1921–1927   Republican
Charles Armstrong 1927–1935   Republican
James Carr 1935–1935   Democratic
George Saunders 1935–1941   Democratic
Walter Morrison 1941–1949   Republican
George Baker 1949–1953   Democratic
Homer Bruce 1953–1955   Republican
George Baker 1955–1963   Democratic
Bryon A. Anderson 1963–1974   Republican
Mary Estill Buchanan 1974–1983   Republican
Natalie Meyer 1983–1995   Republican
Victoria Buckley 1995–1999   Republican
Donetta Davidson 1999–2005   Republican
Gigi Dennis 2005–2007   Republican
  Mike Coffman 2007–2009   Republican
Bernie Buescher 2009–2011   Democratic
  Scott Gessler 2011–2015   Republican
  Wayne W. Williams 2015–2019   Republican
  Jena Griswold 2019–present   Democratic

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "Contact the Secretary of State's Office".
  2. ^ History and Usage of the Colorado State Seal Archived 2008-09-14 at the Wayback Machine
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