Secretary of State of Maine


The Secretary of State of Maine is a constitutional officer in the U.S. state of Maine and serves as the head of the Maine Department of State. The Secretary of State performs duties of both a legislative branch as well as an executive branch officer. The role oversees areas that include motor vehicle licensing, state identification, record keeping, and corporate chartering.
The Secretary of State is elected biannually by ballot of members of both houses of the Maine Legislature assembled together, identical in procedure to its neighbor, New Hampshire. The position is elected at the start of the first session of the Maine Legislature, which also sits for a two-year term, concurrent with the other constitutional officers of Maine.
The incumbent Secretary of State is Matthew Dunlap, who took office on 7 January 2013. Dunlap previously held the office from January 2005 to January 2011.

Duties

The Secretary of State oversees three distinct areas within their department. These coincide with the three bureaus under their aegis: the Maine Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions, Maine State Archives and Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Corporations, Elections, and Commissions

The Secretary of State has oversight over the conduct of elections, petition filing, and state-wide ballot initiatives. They are responsible for applying campaign conduct law against candidates for office. The Secretary reviews petitions to verify authenticity of signatures for ballot initiatives under the Maine Constitution.
The Secretary of State also oversees and applies the state's corporation law. Corporations seeking to be chartered in Maine do so through the Secretary's office. The Secretary has oversight over Maine's commercial law and application of the Uniform Commercial Code.
The Secretary's office appoints and regulates the state's notaries public.

State Archives

The Secretary maintains laws passed in the State and all records of the Legislature, state agencies, election returns, vital statistics, county court rulings, and Supreme Judicial Court rulings and proceedings.

Motor Vehicles

The Secretary oversees the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles and is thus responsible for overseeing identification, motor vehicle registration, vehicle inspections, and other forms of licensing.

List of Secretaries of State

The following officials have served as Secretary of State of Maine:
TenureSecretary of StateHometownPartyNotes
1820–1821Ashur WarePortlandDemocratic-Republican
1822–1828Amos NicholsAugustaDemocratic-Republican
1829–1830Edward RussellNorth YarmouthNational Republican
1831–1834Roscoe GreenePortlandDemocratic
1835–1837Asaph NicholsAugustaDemocratic
1838Samuel P. BensonWinthropWhig
1839Asaph NicholsAugustaDemocratic
1840Philip C. JohnsonAugustaDemocratic
1841Samuel P. BensonWinthropDemocratic
1842–1844Philip C. JohnsonAugustaDemocratic
1845William B. HartwellAugustaDemocratic
1846–1849Ezra B. FrenchDamariscottaDemocratic
1850–1853John G. SawyerAugustaDemocratic
1854–1855Alden JacksonAugustaWhig
1856Caleb AyerCornishDemocratic
1857Alden JacksonAugustaDemocratic
1858–1860Noah Smith, Jr.CalaisRepublican
1861–1863Joseph B. HallPresque IsleRepublican
1864–1867Ephraim Flint, Jr.DoverRepublican
1868–1871Franklin M. DrewBrunswickRepublican
1872–1874George B. StacyRichmondRepublicanResigned
1875Sidney PerhamParis, MaineRepublicanPreviously served as governor.
1876–1878S.J. ChadbourneDixmontDemocratic
1879Edward H. GoveBiddefordGreenback
1880S.J. ChadbourneAugustaRepublican
1881–1884Joseph O. SmithAugustaRepublican
1885–1890Ormandel SmithLitchfieldRepublican
1891–1896Nicholas FessendenFort FairfieldRepublican
1897–1906Byron BoydAugustaRepublican
1907–1910Arthur I. BrownBelfastRepublican
1911–1912Cyrus W. DavisWatervilleDemocrat
1913–1914Joseph E. AlexanderRichmondRepublican
1915–1916John E. BunkerEdenDemocrat
1917–1926Frank W. BallDoverRepublican
1927–1932Edgar C. SmithAugustaRepublican
1933–1934Robinson C. TobeyAugustaRepublican
1935–1936Lewis O. BarrowsNewportRepublican
1937–1941Frederick RobieGorhamRepublican
1942–1960Harold I. GossGardinerRepublicanLongest-serving Maine Secretary of State
1961–1964Paul A. MacDonaldCoopers MillsRepublican
1965–1966Kenneth M. CurtisCape ElizabethDemocratic
1967–1974Joseph T. EdgarFarmingdaleRepublican
1975–1978Markham L. GartleyGreenvilleDemocraticRan unsuccessfully for Congress against Olympia Snowe in 1978.
1979–1988Rodney S. QuinnAugustaDemocratic
1989–1996William DiamondWindhamDemocratic
1997–2004Dan GwadoskyFairfieldDemocratic
2005–2010Matthew DunlapOld TownDemocratic
2011–2012Charlie SummersScarboroughRepublican
2013–presentMatthew DunlapOld TownDemocraticIncumbent