View source for Secretary of State of Arkansas

{{short description|Cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of Arkansas}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox Political post
| post = Secretary of State
| image =
| body = Arkansas
| insignia = Seal of the Secretary of State of Arkansas.png
| insigniasize = 110px
| insigniacaption = Seal of the secretary of state
| incumbent = [[Cole Jester]]
| incumbentsince = January 1, 2025
| style = Mr. Secretary<br>(informal)<br>[[The Honourable#United States|The Honorable]]<br>(formal)
| seat = [[Arkansas State Capitol|State Capitol]], [[Little Rock, Arkansas]]
| termlength = Four years, renewable once (Seventy-third Amendment to the [[Constitution of Arkansas|Arkansas Constitution of 1874]])
| constituting_instrument = [[Constitution of Arkansas#1836 Constitution|Arkansas Constitution of 1836]]
| precursor = Secretary of [[Arkansas Territory]]
| formation = {{start date and age|1836|9|16|p=1|br=1}}
| first = Robert A. Watkins
| website = {{URL|sos.arkansas.gov}}
| salary = $54,305<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Arkansas_state_government_salary |title=Arkansas state government salary |publisher=Ballotpedia |access-date=February 4, 2018 }}</ref>
}}
The Arkansas '''Secretary of State''' is one of the elected constitutional officers of the [[U.S. state|U.S. State]] of [[Arkansas]].

The current Secretary of State is [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Cole Jester]] who was appointed by Governor [[Sarah Huckabee Sanders]] after [[John Thurston (politician)|John Thurston]] became the [[Arkansas State Treasurer|state treasurer]].

==Organization==
The secretary of state's office is composed of seven divisions:

*The Building & Grounds Division maintains the [[Arkansas State Capitol]] and its surrounding grounds and gardens.
*The Business & Commercial Services Division is responsible for filing [[lien]]s pursuant to the [[Uniform Commercial Code]], registering [[business entities]] and [[trademark]]s, collecting the state [[franchise tax]], and licensing [[Notary public|notaries public]].
*The Communications & Education Division provides public education about [[civics]] and the [[History of Arkansas]], and produces various state publications.
*The Elections Division administers elections, regulates [[campaign finance]] and [[lobbying]], and ensures compliance with state and federal [[election law]]s.
*The Fiscal Office deals with the internal financial, logistical, and personnel matters of the Office of the Secretary of State.  They also distribute the [[Flag of Arkansas|Arkansas]] and [[Flag of the United States|United States flag]].
*The secretary also runs the State Capitol gift shop.
*The State Capitol Police provide security for the State Capitol building and police services for the Capitol Complex.

==Other duties==
The Secretary of State also publishes the state's [[Administrative law|administrative regulations]] and the state [[gazette]], the ''Arkansas Register''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sos.arkansas.gov/rules-regulations |publisher=Arkansas Secretary of State |title=Rules & Regulations |access-date=May 10, 2018 }}</ref>

==Officeholders==
[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] were elected exclusively to the office of secretary of state from the later [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction era]] until the retirement of [[Charlie Daniels (politician)|Charlie Daniels]] to run for State Auditor in 2010, when the first modern-day Republican to hold the office, Mark Martin, was elected. Secretaries of State during the statehood of Arkansas include:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=5723 |title=Office of Secretary of State |website=The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture |access-date=February 7, 2018 }}</ref>

{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[Robert A. Watkins]] (D) 1836–1840
* [[D. B. Greer]] 1840–1842
* [[John Winfrey]] (D) 1842
* [[D. B. Greer]] (D) 1842–1859
* [[Alexander Boileau]] (D) 1859–1860
* [[S. W. Weaver]] (D) 1860
* [[John I. Stirman]] (D) 1860–1862
* [[O. H. Oates]] (Confederate) 1862–1864
* [[Robert J. T. White]] (R) 1864–1871
* [[James M. Johnson (Arkansas)|James M. Johnson]] (R) 1871–1874
* [[Benton B. Beavers]] (D) 1874–1879
* [[Jacob Frolich]] (D) 1879–1885
* [[Elias B. Moore]] (D) 1885–1889
* [[Benjamin Boone Chism]] (D) 1889–1893<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QC1LCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA127 |title=A Pictorial History of Arkansas's Old State House |year=2011 |first=Mary L. |last=Kwas |publisher=University of Arkansas Press |access-date=December 21, 2023 |page=127 }}</ref>
* [[H. B. Armistead]] (D) 1893–1897
* [[Alexander C. Hull]] (D) 1897–1901
* [[J. W. Crockett]] (D) 1901–1905
* [[O. C. Ludwig]] (D) 1905–1911
* [[Earle W. Hodges]] (D) 1911–1917
* [[Tom J. Terral]] (D) 1917–1921
* [[Ira C. Hopper]] (D) 1921–1925
* [[Jim B. Higgins]] (D) 1925–1931
* [[Ed F. McDonald]] (D) 1931–1937
* [[Claris Hall|C. G. "Crip" Hall]] (D) 1937–1961
* [[Nancy Hall|Nancy J. Hall]] (D) 1961–1963
* [[Kelly Bryant (politician)|Kelly Bryant]] (D) 1963–1975
* [[George O. Jernigan Jr.]] (D) 1975–1977
* [[Winston Bryant]] (D) 1977–1979
* [[Paul Riviere (politician)|Paul Riviere]] (D) 1979–1985
* [[Bill McCuen|William J. "Bill" McCuen]] (D) 1985–1995
* [[Sharon Priest|Sharon M. Priest]] (D) 1995–2003
* [[Charlie Daniels (politician)|Charlie Daniels]] (D) 2003–2011
* [[Mark Martin (Arkansas politician)|Mark Martin]] (R) 2011–2019
* [[John Thurston (politician)|John Thurston]] (R) 2019–2025
* [[Cole Jester]] (R) 2025–present}}

==See also==
{{portal|Politics|United States}}
* [[List of company registers]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
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;Official
* {{Official website}}
; General information
* {{Ballotpedia|Arkansas_Secretary_of_State|Arkansas Secretary of State}}
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/AR/ofc/sos.html Arkansas: Secretaries of State] at [[The Political Graveyard]]
* {{Internet Archive author|name=Arkansas. Office of the Secretary of State}}
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{{U.S. State Secretaries of State}}
{{Arkansas statewide elected officials}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Secretaries of state of Arkansas| ]]
[[Category:1836 establishments in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Executive branch of the government of Arkansas]]
[[Category:Lists of Arkansas politicians]]