| Secretary of State of Kentucky |
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Seal of Kentucky |
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| Term length | 4 years |
| Inaugural holder | James Brown June 5, 1792 |
| Formation | Kentucky Constitution 1792 |
| Salary | $92,000 |
| Website | http://sos.ky.gov/ |
The Secretary of State of Kentucky is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is now an elected office, but was an appointed office prior to 1891. The current Secretary of State is Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes. Grimes was elected to her first term on November 8, 2011. She took office on January 2, 2012.
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Despite the fact that Kentucky designates itself a Commonwealth, the office itself is still referred to as "Secretary of State". The office was created by Article II, Section 17 of the Kentucky Constitution of 1792 simply as "the secretary". Article III, Section 21, of the Kentucky Constitution of 1850 changed the title of the office to Secretary of State.
Section 91 of the Kentucky Constitution of 1891 (the most recent state constitution), changed the method by which the Secretary of State is selected. Prior to 1891, the secretary was appointed by the governor; under the present Constitution, the Secretary of State is elected by the qualified voters of the state. The most recent election was in 2011. In 1992, the Constitution was amended to allow the Secretary of State to serve two successive terms.[1][2]
Emma Guy Cromwell ran for the office of Secretary of State, defeating another woman, Mary Elliott Flanery, and two men in the 1923 Democratic primary. In the general election, Cromwell went on to defeat her Republican opponent, Eleanor Wickliffe. She was sworn in on January 10, 1924 and became the first woman elected to statewide office in Kentucky. [3]
The Secretary of State's Office is composed of five divisions:
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