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Arizona Secretary of State

From Ballotpedia

Arizona Secretary of State

General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$70,000
2025 FY Budget:	$25,298,100
Term limits:	Two consecutive terms
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Arizona Constitution, Article 5, Section 1 (Version 2)
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder(s)
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes Democratic Party Assumed office: January 2, 2023
Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 2022
Other Arizona Executive Offices
Governor •Lieutenant Governor •Secretary of State •Attorney General •Treasurer •Superintendent of Public Instruction•Auditor•Agriculture Director •Insurance and Financial Institutions Director•Lands Commissioner•Labor Director•Corporation Commission•State Mine Inspector

TheArizona Secretary of State is an elected state executive officer inArizona. His or her responsibilities range from publishing state laws and rules to serving as the chief election officer. The secretary is also keeper of the great seal of the state and oversees the registration of business partnerships and trademarks in Arizona.

Arizona'sSecretary of State is unique, as he or she serves as acting governor when thegovernor is absent or otherwise unable to serve. This duty is usually fulfilled by thelieutenant governor in other states, an office that does not exist in Arizona.

Arizona has a Democratictriplex. The Democratic Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

Current officeholder

The current Arizona Secretary of State isAdrian Fontes (D). Fontes assumed office in 2023.

Authority

The office of secretary of state is established by theArizona Constitution as part of the state's executive department.

Arizona Constitution, Article 5, Section 1 (Version 2)

The executive department shall consist of the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer and superintendent of public instruction...

Qualifications

TheArizona Constitution requires all of the officers in the state's executive department, including the secretary of state, to be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for 10 years, and an Arizona resident for five years.

Arizona Constitution, Article 5, Section 2

No person shall be eligible to any of the offices mentioned in section 1 of this article except a person of the age of not less than twenty-five years, who shall have been for ten years next preceding his election a citizen of the United States, and for five years next preceding his election a citizen of Arizona.

Elections

Arizonans elect their secretary of state in midterm election years (2006, 2010, 2014, etc.) for a term of four years. The winner assumes office on the first Monday of January after his or her election. If no candidate receives a majority (over 50 percent) of the votes, a runoff election is held between the two candidates that received the largest amount. If the two candidates in the runoff receive an equal number of votes, the state legislature chooses a winner.

Secretaries of state hold office from the first Monday of January following the year they are elected.

Arizona Constitution, Article 5, Section 1 (Version 2)

A. The executive department shall consist of the governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction, each of whom shall hold office for a term of four years beginning on the first Monday of January, 1971 next after the regular general election in 1970.

B. The person having a majority of the votes cast for the office voted for shall be elected. If no person receives a majority of the votes cast for the office, a second election shall be held as prescribed by law between the persons receiving the highest and second highest number of votes cast for the office. The person receiving the highest number of votes at the second election for the office is elected, but if the two persons have an equal number of votes for the office, the two houses of the legislature at its next regular session shall elect forthwith, by joint ballot, one of such persons for said office.

Term limits

Term limits for the secretary of state are defined byArticle 5, Section 1, Version 2 of the Arizona Constitution, which prohibits a secretary of state from serving more than two consecutive terms.

Arizona Constitution, Article 5, Section 1A, Version 2:

The executive department shall consist of the governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction, each of whom shall hold office for a term of four years beginning on the first Monday of January, 1971 next after the regular general election in 1970. No member of the executive department shall hold that office for more than two consecutive terms. This limitation on the number of terms of consecutive service shall apply to terms of office beginning on or after January 1, 1993. No member of the executive department after serving the maximum number of terms, which shall include any part of a term served, may serve in the same office until out of office for no less than one full term.

2022

See also:Arizona Secretary of State election, 2022

General election

General election for Arizona Secretary of State

Adrian Fontes defeatedMark Finchem in the general election for Arizona Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Adrian Fontes (D)	52.4	1,320,619
	Mark Finchem (R)	47.6	1,200,411

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,521,030
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Peter Yeaple (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Arizona Secretary of State

Adrian Fontes defeatedReginald Bolding in the Democratic primary for Arizona Secretary of State on August 2, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Adrian Fontes	52.5	302,681
	Reginald Bolding	47.5	273,815

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 576,496
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Dennis Florian (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Arizona Secretary of State

Mark Finchem defeatedBeau Lane,Shawnna Bolick, andMichelle Ugenti-Rita in the Republican primary for Arizona Secretary of State on August 2, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Mark Finchem	42.6	329,884
	Beau Lane	23.4	181,058
	Shawnna Bolick	19.3	149,779
	Michelle Ugenti-Rita	14.8	114,391

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 775,112
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Wade Wilson (R)
Remo Paul (R)