View source for Secretary of the State of Connecticut

{{Infobox official post
| post                     = Secretary 
| insignia                 = Secretary of the State of Connecticut Seal.png
| insigniasize             = 
| insigniacaption          = Seal of the Secretary of the State
| body                     = the State of Connecticut
| image                    = Stephanie Thomas 2023 (cropped).jpg
| incumbent                =
[[Stephanie Thomas (politician)|Stephanie Thomas]]
| incumbentsince           = January 4, 2023 
| type                     = Secretary 
| termlength               = 4 years
| formation                = 1639
| first                    = Edward Hopkins 
| website                  = [https://portal.ct.gov/sots Official homepage of the Connecticut Secretary of the State]
}}
The '''secretary of the state of Connecticut''' is one of the constitutional officers of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Connecticut]]. (The [[definite article]] is part of the legal job title.) It is an elected position in the state government and has a term length of four years.
;
The current secretary of the state is Stephanie Thomas, a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] who has held the office since January 2023 after defeating Republican opponent Dominic Rapini in the 2022 general election. 

The Secretary of the State's Office is composed of two divisions:
*The [http://www.sots.ct.gov/sots/cwp/view.asp?a=3179&q=392220&SOTSNav_GID=1846 Legislation and Elections Administration Division], which administers elections and ensures compliance with state and federal election laws. This division is also responsible for maintaining governmental records, administering the [[Seal of Connecticut]], and licensing [[notary public|notaries public]].<ref>[http://www.sots.ct.gov/sots/cwp/view.asp?a=3181&q=392240&SOTSNav_GID=1842 Overview of the Office of the Secretary of the State]</ref>
*The [http://www.sots.ct.gov/sots/cwp/view.asp?a=3177&q=392126&SOTSNav_GID=1844 Commercial Recording Division], which charters [[corporation]]s and other business entities, registers [[trademark]]s, [[service mark]]s, and [[lien]]s under the [[Uniform Commercial Code]], and issues [[apostille]]s.

==List of secretaries of state of Connecticut==
===Before statehood===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| '''Name'''
| '''Town'''
| '''Term of service'''
| '''Years of service'''
|-
| Edward Hopkins
| Hartford
| 1639–1641
| 2 yrs.
|-
| Thomas Welles
| Hartford
| 1641–1648
| 7 yrs.
|-
| John Cullick
| Hartford, O
| 1648–1658
| 10 yrs.
|-
| [[Daniel Clark (Connecticut colonial leader)|Daniel Clark]]
| Windsor, O
| 1658–1664, 1665–1667
| 8 yrs.
|-
| John Allyn
| Hartford, O
| 1664–1665, 1667–1696
| 30 yrs.
|-
| [[Eleazer Kimberly]]
| Glastonbury, O
| 1696–1709
| 13 yrs.
|-
| William Whiting
| Hartford, O
| 1709
| 3 mo.
|-
| Caleb Stanly
| Hartford, O
| 1709–1712
| 3 yrs.
|-
| Richard Lord
| Hartford, O
| 1712
| 17 d.
|-
| Hezekiah Wyllys
| Hartford, O
| 1712–1735
| 23 yrs.
|-
| George Wyllys
| Hartford, O
| 1735–1796
| 61 yrs.
|-
|}

===Since statehood===
Connecticut ratified the [[United States Constitution]] and gained statehood in 1788.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Image'''
! '''Name'''
! '''Town'''
! '''Political party'''
! '''Term of service'''
|-
| 
| George Wyllys
| Hartford
|
| 1788–1796
|-
| 
| [[Samuel Wyllys]]
| Hartford
|
| 1796–1810
|-
| 
| Thomas Day
| Hartford
|
| 1810–1835
|-
| [[File:Royal Ralph Hinman Portrait Miniature.jpg|60px]]
| [[Royal Ralph Hinman]]
| Southbury
|
| 1835–1842
|-
| 
| Noah A. Phelps
| Hartford
|
| 1842–1844
|-
| 
| Daniel P. Tyler
| Pomfret
|
| 1844–1846
|-
| 
| Charles W. Bradley
| Hartford
|
| 1846–1847
|-
| 
| [[John Brownlee Robertson|John B. Robertson]]
| New Haven
|
| 1847–1849
|-{{Party shading/Whig}}
| 
| [[Roger H. Mills]]
| N. Hartford
|Whig
| 1849–1850
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 
| Hiram Weed
| Danbury
| Democratic
| 1850
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 
| [[John Perkins Cushing Mather|John P. C. Mather]]
| New London
| Democratic
| 1850–1854
|-{{Party shading/Whig}}
| [[File:Portrait of Oliver Henry Perry (1881) (cropped).png|60px]]
| [[Oliver Henry Perry|Oliver H. Perry]]
| Fairfield
| Whig
| 1854–1855
|-{{Party shading/American}}
| [[File:Nehemiah Day Sperry (Connecticut Congressman).jpg|60px]]
| [[Nehemiah D. Sperry]]
| New Haven
| American
| 1855–1857
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[File:Senator Oroville H. Platt as a Member of the 55th US Congress.jpeg|60px]]
| [[Orville H. Platt]]
| Meriden
| American, Republican
| 1857–1858
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| 
| [[John Boyd (Connecticut politician)|John Boyd]]
| Winchester
| Republican
| 1858–1861
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[File:James Hammond Trumbull.jpg|60px]]
| [[James Hammond Trumbull]]
| Hartford
| Republican
| 1861–1866
|-
| 
| Leverett E. Pease
| Somers
| Union
| 1866–1869
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| 
| Hiram Appelman
| Groton
| Republican
| 1869–1870
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[File:Thomas M. Waller.jpg|60px]]
| [[Thomas M. Waller]]
| New London
| Democratic
| 1870–1871
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| 
| Hiram Appelman
| Groton
| Republican
| 1871–1873
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| 
| D. W. Edgecomb
| Fairfield
| Republican
| 1873
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 
| Marvin H. Sanger
| Canterbury
| Democratic
| 1873–1877
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[File:Dwight Morris.jpg|60px]]
| [[Dwight Morris]]
| Bridgeport
| Democratic
| 1877-–1879
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[File:David Torrance judge c1903.jpg|60px]]
| [[David Torrance (judge)|David Torrance]]
| Derby
| Republican
| 1879–1881
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| 
| Charles E. Searls
| Thompson
| Republican
| 1881–1883
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 
| D. Ward Northrop
| Middletown
| Democratic
| 1883–1885
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[File:CharlesARussell.jpg|60px]]
| [[Charles Addison Russell|Charles A. Russell]]
| Killingly
| Republican
| 1885–1887
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| 
| Leverett M. Hubbard
| Wallingford
| Republican
| 1887–1889
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[File:Robert Jay Walsh.jpg|60px]]
| [[R. Jay Walsh]]
| Greenwich
| Republican
| 1889–1893
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 
| [[John J. Phelan]]
| Bridgeport
| Democratic
| 1893–1895
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| 
| William C. Mowry
| Norwich
| Republican
| 1895–1897
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[FIle:Men of mark in Connecticut; ideals of American life told in biographies and autobiographies of eminent living Americans (1906) (14780862274) (3x4a).jpg|60px]]
| [[Charles Phelps (politician)|Charles Phelps]]
| Rockville
| Republican
| 1897–1899
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| 
| Huber Clark
| Willimantic
| Republican
| 1899–1901
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| 
| Charles G. R. Vinal
| Middletown
| Republican
| 1901–1905
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[File:Theodore Bodenwein.png|60px]]
| [[Theodore Bodenwein]]
| New London
| Republican
| 1905–1909
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| 
| Matthew H. Rogers
| Bridgeport
| Republican
| 1909–1913
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 
| Albert Phillips
| Stamford
| Democratic
| 1913–1915
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| 
| Charles D. Burnes
| Greenwich
| Republican
| 1915–1917
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| 
| Frederick L. Perry
| New Haven
| Republican
| 1917–1921
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| 
| Donald J. Warner
| Salisbury
| Republican
| 1921–1923
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[File:Francis A. Pallotti (1886–1946), Secretary of the State of Connecticut (1923–29) and Connecticut Attorney General (1939–45).jpg|60px]]
| [[Francis A. Pallotti]]
| Hartford
| Republican
| 1923–1929
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[File:William L. Higgins (Connecticut Congressman).jpg|60px]]
| [[William L. Higgins]]
| Coventry
| Republican
| 1929–1933
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[File:John A. Danaher.jpg|60px]]
| [[John A. Danaher]]
| Hartford
| Republican
| 1933–1935
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[File:C. John Satti (1895–1968), Connecticut Secretary of State, 1938.jpg|60px]]
| [[C. John Satti]]
| New London
| Democratic
| 1935–1939
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[File:Sara Buek Crawford (1876–1949), Secretary of the State of Connecticut, 1940.jpg|60px]]
| [[Sara Crawford|Sara B. Crawford]]
| Westport
| Republican
| 1939–1941
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[File:Chase Woodhouse (cropped).jpg|60px]]
| [[Chase G. Woodhouse]]
| New London
| Democratic
| 1941–1943
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[File:Frances Burke Redick (1894–1974), Secretary of the State of Connecticut, 1948.jpg|60px]]
| [[Frances Burke Redick|Frances B. Redick]]
| Newington
| Republican
| 1943–1945
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[File:Charles J. Prestia (1909–1953), Secretary of the State of Connecticut, 1946.jpg|60px]]
| [[Charles J. Prestia]]
| New Britain
| Democratic
| 1945–1947
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[File:Frances Burke Redick (1894–1974), Secretary of the State of Connecticut, 1948.jpg|60px]]
| [[Frances Burke Redick|Frances B. Redick]]
| Newington
| Republican
| 1947–1949
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[File:Winifred McDonald, Secretary of the State of Connecticut, 1950.jpg|60px]]
| [[Winifred McDonald]]
| Waterbury
| Democratic
| 1949–1951
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[File:Alice K. Leopold (1906–1982), Secretary of the State of Connecticut, 1951.jpg|60px]]
| [[Alice K. Leopold]]
| Weston
| Republican
| 1951–1953
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[File:Charles B. Keats (1905–1978), Secretary of the State of Connecticut, 1954.jpg|60px]]
| [[Charles B. Keats]]
| Bridgeport
| Republican
| 1953–1955
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[File:Mildred P. Allen (1907–1961), Secretary of the State of Connecticut, 1957.jpg|60px]]
| [[Mildred P. Allen]]
| Hartford
| Republican
| 1955–1959
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[File:GrassoEllaT.gif|60px]]
| [[Ella Grasso]]
| Windsor Locks
| Democratic
| 1959–1971
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[File:Gloria Schaffer (born 1930), Secretary of the State of Connecticut, 1977.jpg|60px]]
| [[Gloria Schaffer]]
| Woodbridge
| Democratic
| 1971–1978
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 
| [[Henry S. Cohn]]
| West Hartford
| Democratic
| 1978–1979
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[File:Barbarakennelly.jpg|60px]]
| [[Barbara B. Kennelly]]
| Hartford
| Democratic
| 1979–1982
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 
| [[Maura L. Melley]]
| Wethersfield
| Democratic
| 1982–1983
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 
| [[Julia Tashjian]]
| Windsor
| Democratic
| 1983–1991
|-{{Party shading/Republican}}
| 
| [[Pauline R. Kezer]]
| Plainville
| Republican
| 1991–1995
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 
| [[Miles S. Rapoport]]
| West Hartford
| Democratic
| 1995–1999
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[File:SusanBysiewiczPic (cropped).JPG|60px]]
| [[Susan Bysiewicz]]
| Middletown
| Democratic
| 1999–2011
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[File:Denise Merrill 2014.jpg|60px]]
| [[Denise Merrill]]
| Mansfield
| Democratic
| 2011–2022
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| 
| [[Mark Kohler]]
| North Haven
| Democratic
| 2022–2023
|-{{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[File:Stephanie Thomas.png|60px]]
| [[Stephanie Thomas (politician)|Stephanie Thomas]]
| Norwalk
| Democratic
| 2023–present
|}

==See also==
* [[Attorney General of Connecticut]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.cslib.org/agencies/SecretaryofState.htm List of past Secretaries of the State of Connecticut], from the [[Connecticut State Library]]

{{U.S. State Secretaries of State}}
{{Connecticut Constitutional Officers}}

[[Category:Secretaries of the state of Connecticut| ]]
[[Category:1639 establishments in Connecticut]]