E-Mail: secretary.state@state.mn.us
Minnesota Constitution provides: That the secretary of state is an officer in the executive department; to qualify as secretary of state a person must be a qualified voter, twenty-one years old, and elected by the people (Article V).
Term: Four Years.Statutory Salary: $90,227Current Term Expires: January, 2015
The Secretary of State is an independently elected public official. The office is part of the executive branch of state government and has been in existence since statehood in 1858.
The core functions of the office are:
There are approximately 80 staff persons in the office divided almost equally between each of the following areas: 1) Information Technology, 2) Elections/Administration, and 3) Business Services.
During the FY2008-09 biennium, the Secretary of State projected the collection of approximately $26 million in fees which were deposited into the state's general fund. The Legislature returns approximately $6 million annually to the secretary of state to cover the office's operating budget. The remaining fees of approximately $14 million over the two-year biennium remain in the state general fund.
The office is also the keeper of the original chapter laws passed each legislative session and signed by the various officers of the Legislature such as the President of the Senate, speaker of the House, chief clerk of the House and secretary of the Senate as well as the secretary of state and (in most cases) the governor.
About Mark Ritchie Email: secretary.state@state.mn.us
List of Minnesota Secretaries of State
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