The Secretary of State of Kentucky is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is now an elected office, but was an appointed office prior to 1891. The current Secretary of State is Trey Grayson.
Despite the fact that Kentucky designates itself a Commonwealth, the office itself is still referred to as "Secretary of State". The office was created by Article II, Section 17 of the Kentucky Constitution of 1792 simply as "the secretary". Article III, Section 21, of the Kentucky Constitution of 1850 changed the title of the office to Secretary of State.
Section 91 of the Kentucky Constitution of 1891 (the most recent state constitution), changed the method by which the Secretary of State is selected. Prior to 1891, the secretary was appointed by the governor; under the present Constitution, the Secretary of State is elected by the qualified voters of the state. In 1992, the Constitution was amended to allow the Secretary of State to serve two successive terms.12
Structure and duties of the office
The Secretary of State's Office is composed of five divisions:
The Elections Division certifies the name, party affiliation and ballot position of all candidates filed with him to the appropriate county clerks for ballot printing. The actual administration of elections is conducted by an separate, independent agency, the Kentucky State Board of Elections.
*In states without a Secretary of State, the Lt. Governor may perform some of the typical functions of a Secretary of State, but the offices are not the same.
