Secretary of State of Louisiana

The secretary of state of Louisiana (French: Secrétaire d'État de la Louisiane) is one of the elected constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Louisiana and serves as the head of the Louisiana Department of State. The position was created by Article 4, Section 7 of the Louisiana Constitution.

Secretary of State of Louisiana
Incumbent
Nancy Landry
since January 8, 2024
Louisiana Department of State
TypeSecretary of State
Constituting instrumentArticle 4, Section 7 of the Louisiana Constitution
Formation1812
First holderLouis B. Macarty
Websitesos.la.gov

The current secretary of state is Nancy Landry.

Powers and duties

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Article 4, Section 7 of the Constitution of Louisiana provides for the office of secretary of state.[1]

The secretary administers Louisiana's Address Confidentiality Program, which protects victims of stalking, domestic violence, and sexual abuse.[citation needed] The secretary operates "Louisiana One Call", the state's "call before you dig" program,[2] and accepts applications for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority.[3] The office manages an online portal for businesses operating in the state.[4]

The secretary of state's office is responsible for the management of the Old Louisiana Governor's Mansion, the Old Louisiana State Capitol, the State Archives, and seven museums.[5]

The secretary is an ex officio member of the State Bond Commission[6] and the board of directors of the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.[7] They are second in the line of gubernatorial succession.[8]

Structure and organization

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The secretary of state's office is located in Baton Rouge.[9] The Louisiana Department of State is composed of eight divisions:

  • The Louisiana State Archives is a division of the secretary of state's office, and is the official repository for all historical records of the state.
  • The Commissions Division grants commission certificates to state officials, as well as justices of the peace and clergymen (to perform marriages). This division also issues apostilles, and attests and affixes the state seal to pardons issued by the governor.
  • The Commercial Division registers corporations and other business entities, administers the state trademark laws, and files liens pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code. This division also serves as the registered agent for service of process in certain types of lawsuits.[10]
  • The Elections Division is responsible for the administration of all elections within the state.[11] Campaign finance and lobbying are regulated by the Louisiana Ethics Administration, a separate agency.
  • The Museums Division operates the state's many museums and historical exhibits.
  • The Notaries Division licenses and supervises notaries public.
  • The Publications Division publishes the state laws of Louisiana, as well as other informational documents of the state government.
  • The Voter Outreach Division is responsible for educating and promoting voter rights to current and future voters by coordinating with schools, private organizations, and holding its own voter registration drives.

List of secretaries of state

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# Image Name Political party Term of office
1 Louis B. Macarty Democraticic-Republican 1812–1816
2   Etienne Mazureau Democraticic-Republican 1816–1820
3   Pierre Derbigny Democraticic-Republican
National Republican
1820-1828
4   George A. Waggaman National Republican 1828-1831
5   George Eustis, Jr. National Republican
Whig
1831-1834
6 Martin Blache 1834-1836
7 William C. C. Claiborne, Jr. Whig 1836-1837
8 Alfred E. Forstall 1837-1838
9   Henry Adams Bullard Whig 1838-1839
10 Levi Pierce Whig 1839–1845
11   Robert C. Nicholas Democraticic 1845
12 Zenon Ledoux, Jr. Democratic 1845
13   Charles Gayarré Democratic 1845–1852
14 Andrew S. Herron Democratic 1852–1859
15 Pliny D. Hardy Democratic 1859–1865
16 Stanislas Wrotnowski Democratic (Unionist) 1865–1866
17 George E. Bovee Republican 1866–1872
18   Francis J. Herron Republican 1872
19 Jack Wharton Republican 1872-1873
20 P.G. Deslonde Republican 1873–1877
21 Emile Honoré Republican 1877[12][13][14][15]
22 Will A. Strong Democratic 1877–1884
23 Oscar Arroyo Democratic 1884–1888
24 Leonard F. Mason Democratic 1888–1892
25 T. S. Adams Democratic 1892–1896
26 John T. Michel Democratic 1896–1912
27 Alvin Hebert Democratic 1912–1914
28 W. F. Millsaps Democratic 1914–1916
29 James J. Bailey Democratic 1916–1932 (died in office, 1930)
30 Alice Lee Grosjean Democratic 1930–1932 (appointed by Governor Long to fill Bailey's terms)
31 E. A. Conway Democratic 1932–1940
32   Jack P. F. Gremillion Democratic 1940–1944
33 Wade O. Martin Jr. Democratic 1944–1976
34 Paul Hardy Democratic 1976–1980
35 James H. "Jim" Brown Democratic 1980–1988
36 W. Fox McKeithen Democratic
Republican
1988–2005
Al Ater Democratic 2005–2006
(Acting)
37   Jay Dardenne Republican 2006–2010
38 Tom Schedler Republican 2010–2018
(Acting 2010–2011)
39   Kyle Ardoin Republican 2018–2024
40 Nancy Landry Republican 2024–present

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Department Overview". Louisiana Department of State. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  2. ^ About Louisiana One Call Archived 2008-09-11 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority
  4. ^ Larose, Greg (August 17, 2023). "Why you shouldn't sleep on the Louisiana secretary of state's race this fall". Louisiana Illuminator. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  5. ^ "Oversight of Louisiana Old Governor's Mansion changes hands". KTBS 3 ABC. KTBS. Associated Press. November 8, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  6. ^ Government In Louisiana 2011, p. 2A-6.
  7. ^ Government In Louisiana 2011, p. 2H-9.
  8. ^ "Branches of Government : Executive Branch : Office Of The Governor". Louisiana.gov. Government of Louisiana. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  9. ^ "Contact Us". Louisiana Department of State. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  10. ^ Louisiana Secretary of State, Commercial Division, Administrative Services Archived 2008-09-11 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Mission and history of the Elections Division Archived 2009-06-19 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "Emile Honore, Nichols and Packard lock horns again". The Galveston Daily News. 2 February 1877. p. 1.
  13. ^ Sollors, Werner (1998). Multilingual America: Transnationalism, Ethnicity, and the Languages of American Literature. NYU Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-8147-8093-0.
  14. ^ Congressional Record: Containing the Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1878. p. 1174.
  15. ^ Ruffin, Thomas F. (2006-10-15). Under Stately Oaks: A Pictorial History of LSU. LSU Press. pp. 27–28. ISBN 978-0-8071-3211-1.

Works cited

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