Secretary of State of Wisconsin

The Secretary of State of Wisconsin is an officer of the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin, and the second in the order of succession of the Governor of Wisconsin, behind the Lieutenant Governor.

Twenty-eight individuals have held the office of Secretary of State, two of whom have held non-consecutive terms.cite book |last=Barish |first=Lawrence S. (ed.) |title=State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2007–2008 |url=http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb/bb/07bb/ |format=PDF |origmonth=July |origyear=2007 |location=Madison, Wisconsin |publisher=Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau |chapter=Chapter 8: Statistical Information on Wisconsin |chapterurl=http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb/bb/07bb/statistics.htm |pages=721–722 |isbn=978-0-9752820-2-1 |accessdate=2008-05-10]

Election and term of office

The secretary of state is elected on Election Day in November, and takes office on the first Monday of the next January.cite book |last=Barish |first=Lawrence S. (ed.) |title=State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2007–2008 |origyear=2007 |origmonth=July |url=http://www.legis.wisconsin/gov/lrb/bb/07bb/ |format=PDF |accessdate=2008-05-10 |publisher=Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau |location=Madison, Wisconsin |isbn=978-0-9752820-2-1 |pages=234 |chapter=Chapter 3: Wisconsin Constitution (Article XIII) |chapterurl=http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb/bb/07bb/constitution.htm] Originally, the secretary of state's term lasted for two years; since a 1967 amendment, however, the term has lasted four years.cite book |last=Barish |first=Lawrence S. (ed.) |title=State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2007–2008 |origyear=2007 |origmonth=July |url=http://www.legis.wisconsin/gov/lrb/bb/07bb/ |format=PDF |accessdate=2008-05-10 |publisher=Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau |location=Madison, Wisconsin |isbn=978-0-9752820-2-1 |pages=215–216 |chapter=Chapter 3: Wisconsin Constitution (Article VI) |chapterurl=http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb/bb/07bb/constitution.htm] There is no limit to the number of terms a secretary of state may hold.

In the event of a vacancy in the office of the secretary of state, the governor may appoint a replacement to fill the remainder of the term; this has occurred twice: upon the death of Fred Zimmerman, Louis Allis was appointed to fill the remainder of the term, and Glenn Wise was appointed to fill the entire of the next term to which Zimmerman had been elected.

The secretary of state may be removed from office through an impeachment trial.cite book |last=Barish |first=Lawrence S. (ed.) |title=State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2007–2008 |origyear=2007 |origmonth=July |url=http://www.legis.wisconsin/gov/lrb/bb/07bb/ |format=PDF |accessdate=2008-05-10 |publisher=Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau |location=Madison, Wisconsin |isbn=978-0-9752820-2-1 |pages=218 |chapter=Chapter 3: Wisconsin Constitution (Article VII) |chapterurl=http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb/bb/07bb/constitution.htm] He may also choose to resign from office. No secretary of state has ever been impeached, and none have resigned.

Powers and duties

The secretary of state is required to keep a record of all the official acts of the legislative and executive branches of Wisconsin's government and to keepsthe Great Seal of the State of Wisconsin and affix it to the official acts of the governor.cite book |last=Barish |first=Lawrence S. (ed.) |title=State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2007–2008 |origyear=2007 |origmonth=July |url=http://www.legis.wisconsin/gov/lrb/bb/07bb/ |format=PDF |accessdate=2008-05-10 |publisher=Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau |location=Madison, Wisconsin |isbn=978-0-9752820-2-1 |pages=508–509 |chapter=Chapter 6: Executive Branch |chapterurl=http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb/bb/07bb/executive.htm] The secretary of state—or, in practice, the Office of the Secretary of State that he heads—also publishes the state laws, files oaths of office, registers trademarks, files deeds for state lands, preserves the original copies of laws, files incorporation papers and other documents for cities and villages, and issues notary authentications.

The secretary of state is also the second in the order of succession of the Governor of Wisconsin; under the current terms of the constitution, if the governor dies, resigns or is removed from office and the office of the lieutenant governor is vacant, the secretary of state becomes governor, whereas in the vacancy of the lieutenant governorship and the absence from the state, impeachment or inability to serve due to illness, the secretary of state merely becomes acting governor. These terms came into effect with an amendment to the constitution in 1979; originally, in all of these events, the secretary of state simply became acting governor.cite book |last=Barish |first=Lawrence S. (ed.) |title=State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2007–2008 |origyear=2007 |origmonth=July |url=http://www.legis.wisconsin/gov/lrb/bb/07bb/ |format=PDF |accessdate=2008-05-11 |publisher=Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau |location=Madison, Wisconsin |isbn=978-0-9752820-2-1 |pages=214 |chapter=Chapter 3: Wisconsin Constitution (Article V) |chapterurl=http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb/bb/07bb/constitution.htm]

While secretaries of state have at times briefly acted as governor, none have ever become governor, or acted in governor in circumstances that would have caused them to become governor had the 1979 amendment been in effect at the time.

See also

*List of Secretaries of State of Wisconsin

References