Secretary of State of Arkansas

Cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of Arkansas

Secretary of State of Arkansas

Seal of the secretary of state

Incumbent
Cole Jester

since January 1, 2025

Style| Mr. Secretary
(informal)
The Honorable
(formal)
Seat| State Capitol, Little Rock, Arkansas
Term length| Four years, renewable once (Seventy-third Amendment to the Arkansas Constitution of 1874)
Constituting instrument| Arkansas Constitution of 1836
Precursor| Secretary of Arkansas Territory
Formation| September 16, 1836
(188 years ago) (1836-09-16)
First holder| Robert A. Watkins
Salary| $54,305[1]
Website| sos.arkansas.gov

The Arkansas Secretary of State is one of the elected constitutional officers of the U.S. State of Arkansas.

The current Secretary of State is Republican Cole Jester who was appointed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders after John Thurston became the state treasurer.

## Organization

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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 liens pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code, registering business entities and trademarks, collecting the state franchise tax, and licensing 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 laws.
* The Fiscal Office deals with the internal financial, logistical, and personnel matters of the Office of the Secretary of State. They also distribute the Arkansas and 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

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The Secretary of State also publishes the state's administrative regulations and the state gazette, the Arkansas Register.[2]

## Officeholders

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Democrats were elected exclusively to the office of secretary of state from the later Reconstruction era until the retirement of 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:[3]

* 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 (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[4]
* 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
* C. G. "Crip" Hall (D) 1937–1961
* Nancy J. Hall (D) 1961–1963
* Kelly Bryant (D) 1963–1975
* George O. Jernigan Jr. (D) 1975–1977
* Winston Bryant (D) 1977–1979
* Paul Riviere (D) 1979–1985
* William J. "Bill" McCuen (D) 1985–1995
* Sharon M. Priest (D) 1995–2003
* Charlie Daniels (D) 2003–2011
* Mark Martin (R) 2011–2019
* John Thurston (R) 2019–2025
* Cole Jester (R) 2025–present

## See also

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* Politics portal
* United States portal

* List of company registers

## References

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1. ^ "Arkansas state government salary". Ballotpedia. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
2. ^ "Rules & Regulations". Arkansas Secretary of State. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
3. ^ "Office of Secretary of State". The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
4. ^ Kwas, Mary L. (2011). A Pictorial History of Arkansas's Old State House. University of Arkansas Press. p. 127. Retrieved December 21, 2023.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Secretaries of State of Arkansas.

Official

* Official website

General information

* Arkansas Secretary of State at Ballotpedia
* Arkansas: Secretaries of State at The Political Graveyard
* Works by or about Arkansas. Office of the Secretary of State at the Internet Archive

* v
* t
* e

Secretaries of state in the United States

▌Wes Allen (R)

▌Nancy Dahlstrom (R)

▌Adrian Fontes (D)

▌Cole Jester (R)

▌Shirley Weber (D)

▌Jena Griswold (D)

▌Stephanie Thomas (D)

▌Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez (D)

▌Cord Byrd (R)

▌Brad Raffensperger (R)

▌Sylvia Luke (D)

▌Phil McGrane (R)

▌Alexi Giannoulias (D)

▌Diego Morales (R)

▌Paul Pate (R)

▌Scott Schwab (R)

▌Michael Adams (R)

▌Nancy Landry (R)

▌Shenna Bellows (D)

▌Susan C. Lee (D)

▌William F. Galvin (D)

▌Jocelyn Benson (D)

▌Steve Simon (DFL)

▌Michael Watson (R)

▌Denny Hoskins (R)

▌Christi Jacobsen (R)

▌Bob Evnen (R)

▌Cisco Aguilar (D)

▌David Scanlan (R)

▌Tahesha Way (D)

▌Maggie Toulouse Oliver (D)

▌Walter T. Mosley (D)

▌Elaine Marshall (D)

▌Michael Howe (R)

▌Frank LaRose (R)

▌Josh Cockroft (R)

▌Tobias Read (D)

▌Al Schmidt (R)

▌Gregg Amore (D)

▌Mark Hammond (R)

▌Monae Johnson (R)

▌Tre Hargett (R)

▌Jane Nelson (R)

▌Deidre Henderson (R)

▌Sarah Copeland Hanzas (D)

▌Kelly Gee (R)

▌Steve Hobbs (D)

▌Kris Warner (R)

▌Sarah Godlewski (D)

▌Chuck Gray (R)

Federal districts:

▌Kimberly A. Bassett (D)

Territories:

▌Pulu Ae Ae Jr. (R)

▌Josh Tenorio (D)

▌David M. Apatang (I)

▌Verónica Ferraiuoli (PNP/D)*

▌Tregenza Roach (D)

Political party affiliations
28 ▌Republican (28 states)
26 ▌Democratic (22 states, 3 territories, 1 district)
1 ▌Independent (1 territory)
1 ▌New Progressive (1 territory)
Italics indicate no secretary of state in this state, closest equivalent listed
An asterisk (*) indicates that the officeholder is serving in an acting capacity.

* v
* t
* e

Arkansas statewide elected officials

* Governor
* Lieutenant Governor
* Secretary of State
* Attorney General
* Treasurer
* Auditor
* Commissioner of State Lands

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