| Secretary of State of Texas | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the Texas secretary of state | |
| Appointer | Thegovernor withSenateadvice and consent |
| Inaugural holder | Samuel Price Carson |
| Formation | March 18, 1836 |
Thesecretary of state of Texas is one of the six members of the executive department of theState ofTexas in the United States. Under theConstitution of Texas, the appointment is made by thegovernor of Texas, with confirmation by theTexas Senate.
The officeholder is the chief elections officer, the protocol officer for state and international matters, as well as the liaison for the governor on Mexican and border matters.[2]
The secretary of state offices are in theJames Earl Rudder State Office Building at 1019 Brazos Street inAustin; the main building handles business and public filings, statutory documents, administrative code open meetings and the UCC. The secretary of state elections office is on the second floor of the James Earl Rudder Building.[3] The executive offices are in Room 1E.8 in theTexas State Capitol.[4][5][6]
Under the Texas Constitution the secretary of state is, with the governor, thelieutenant governor, thecomptroller of public accounts, thecommissioner of the Office of General Land and theattorney general, one of the six members of the Executive Department. Of these offices all are elected by the voters in statewide elections except the secretary of state, who is nominated by the governor and confirmed by the Senate.
The secretary of state administers the Texas Election Code and maintains public filings; the officeholder is the keeper of theSeal of the State of Texas.[8] The office also oversees business entity status in Texas, including processing reinstatements of forfeited or terminated entities.[9] The Secretary of State also issues appointments fornotaries public.[10]
The "Father of Texas",Stephen F. Austin, was appointed Secretary of State of the Republic of Texas by PresidentSam Houston in 1836.[11]
Since then, Texas became a state of the United States in 1845 and there have been 115 Secretaries of State.[1]
Statewide political officials ofTexas | ||
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| U.S. senators |  | |
| State government | ||
| Senate |
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| House |
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| Supreme Court | ||
| Court of Criminal Appeals | ||
