Secretary of State of New Mexico

Powers and duties

The secretary of state is in effect the guarantor of the continuity and stability of good government in New Mexico, with his or her role extending to the enforcement of elections and government ethics laws, the certification, filing, and preservation of legislation, gubernatorial acts, and other instruments vital to the efficient operation of state government, and the registration and regulatory oversight of commerce and industry.

Elections administration

The Bureau of Elections of the Office of the Secretary of State administers elections and enforces local, state, and federal election laws. The bureau's duties include training county clerks and voting machine technicians, maintaining the state's voter registration database, filing petitions of candidacy for candidates for public office, and administering the Native American Election Information Program, which is a special program to help improve voter registration and voter turnout among the Native American populations within the state.

Campaign finance and lobbying regulation

The Ethics Division of the Office of the Secretary of State regulates campaign finance and lobbying within the state, and provides campaign finance and lobbying compliance training to various parties involved in government.

Commerce and industry

The Business Services Division of the Office of the Secretary of State provides various administrative and business-related services to the people of New Mexico. This includes the formation of corporations, limited liability companies, general partnerships, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships, the registration of trademarks, and the indexing of security interests under the Uniform Commercial Code and the Food Security Act of 1985. The division is also responsible for licensing notaries public, issuing apostilles, and maintaining the office's computer systems, including the voter registration system managed by the Bureau of Elections.

Miscellaneous functions

The secretary of state is responsible for filing slip laws, preserving legislative journals, and publishing state agency administrative rules. The secretary also maintains records of referendum petitions, serves as registered agent for service of process on behalf of foreign corporations, and ensures that proposed amendments to the New Mexico Constitution are published in at least one newspaper in every county in the state for four consecutive weeks in both English and Spanish. Moreover, the secretary of state is second in the line of succession after the governor and the lieutenant governor. The secretary of state therefore steps in as acting governor whenever the governor and lieutenant governor are both absent from the state.

List of New Mexico secretaries of state

References

References

1. Lee, Morgan. (December 9, 2016). "New Mexico swears in newly elected secretary of state". SFGate.
2. "Albuquerque Journal {{!}} Secretary of state resigns, reaches plea deal".
3. [http://www.sos.state.nm.us/sos-NAEIP.html Native American Election Information Program]
4. [http://www.sos.state.nm.us/sos-ucc.html New Mexico UCC Information]
5. [http://www.sos.state.nm.us/sos-AgLiens.html New Mexico Central Filing System for Agricultural Liens]
6. [http://www.sos.state.nm.us/PartnershipFAQs.html New Mexico Partnership FAQ]
7. [http://www.sos.state.nm.us/sos-notary.html New Mexico Notary Public information]
8. [http://www.sos.state.nm.us/sos-Apostille.html New Mexico apostille information]
9. [http://www.sos.state.nm.us/sos-SOP.html Service of Process upon the New Mexico Secretary of State]
10. [http://bigstory.ap.org/article/feff0f68967c475a91f0ad22f6f209fe/new-mexico-secretary-state-resigns-amid-fraud-allegations New Mexico secretary of state resigns, enters guilty plea, Associated Press, Oct 23, 2015]
11. [http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3993001.shtml?cat=513#.VnQbzDbovxg ABQ Councilor Brad Winter sworn in as secretary of state, KOB TV, Dec 15, 2015]
12. State of New Mexico. (July 2012). "2012 Centennial Blue Book". Office of the New Mexico Secretary of State.