Secretary of State of Rhode Island

The Secretary of State of Rhode Island is an elected office in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of 2015, the current Secretary of State is Nellie Gorbea.

The Office of the Secretary of State is composed of five separate divisions:

• The Elections and Civics Division prepares ballots, ensures accessibility of voting facilities, qualifies and certifies the names of all federal and state candidates for ballot placement, maintains a database of registered voters, and ensures compliance with the Help America Vote Act. Administration of elections and compliance with campaign finance laws is the responsibility of a separate state agency, the Rhode Island Board of Elections.
• The Corporations Division is responsible for a wide range of business-related legal documents and filings, including formation of corporations and other business entities, liens and security interests under the Uniform Commercial Code, registration of notaries public, apostilles, trademarks and service marks, registration of businesses conducting games of chance, and various other documents required by state law.
• The Public Information Division accepts many filings required to be made with Secretary of State, including Lobbying Disclosures, Public Meeting Notices and Minutes, Disclosure of State Government Consultants and Appointments to Boards and Commissions, and other government information. This division also publishes the Rhode Island Government Owner's Manual, which gives a broad overview of various government offices and officials.
• The Rhode Island State Archives is the official custodian and trustee for public records of permanent historical value.
• The Rhode Island State Library, which was created in 1852 by a General Assembly resolution as part of the office of the Secretary of State. Its purpose is to assist members of the General Assembly with research on the preparation of proposed legislation. The State Library also includes a law library.

Secretaries of state

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List of officeholders

Name	Tenure	Party
Samuel Eddy	1798–1819	Republican
Henry Bowen	1843–1849
Christopher E. Robbins	1849–1851
Asa Potter	1851–1854
William R. Watson	1844–1855
John Russell Bartlett	1855–1872
Joshua M. Addeman	1872–1887
Edwin D. McGuiness	1887–1888
Samuel H. Cross	1888–1890
Edwin D. McGuiness	1890–1891
George H. Utter	1891–1894	Republican
Charles P. Bennett	1894–1909	Republican
J. Fred Parker	1909–1924	Republican
Ernest L. Sprague	1924–1933	Republican
Louis W. Cappelli	1933–1939	Democratic
J. Hector Paquin	1939–1941	Republican
Armand H. Cote	1941–1957	Democratic
John A. Notte, Jr.	1957–1959	Democratic
August P. LaFrance	1959–1973	Democratic
Robert F. Burns	1973–1983	Democratic
Susan Farmer	1983–1987	Republican
Kathleen S. Connell	1987–1993	Democratic
Barbara Leonard	1993–1995	Republican
James Langevin	1995–2001	Democratic
Edward S. Inman	2001–2003	Democratic
Matthew A. Brown	2003–2007	Democratic
A. Ralph Mollis	2007–2015	Democratic
Nellie Gorbea	2015–present	Democratic

See also

• List of company registers

External links

• Office of the Rhode Island Secretary of State, official homepage