Secretary of State of New Jersey


The Secretary of State of New Jersey oversees the Department of State, which is one of the original state offices. The Secretary is responsible for overseeing artistic, cultural, and historical programs within the U.S. state of New Jersey, as well as volunteerism and community service projects within the state and is also the keeper of the Great Seal of the State. The Secretary is appointed by the Governor.
The department's agencies include the State Archives, the Division of Elections, the Division of Programs, the Business Action Center, the Red Tape Review commission, the Council on the Arts, the historical Commission, the Cultural Based Initiatives, the Center for Hispanic Research and Development, the Office for Planning Advocacy and the State Planning Commission. The Secretary of Higher Education, the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, the State Library and the Sports and Exposition Authority are in but not of the department.
The New Jersey Division of Archives and Records Management, sometimes referred to simply as the "State Archives", is the repository for all vital statistics, including marriage and divorce records and birth certificates, and also maintains a separate set of files for the registry of wills. The Secretary of State oversees the Division of Tourism which advertises and promotes New Jersey as a premier travel destination and the Division of Elections, and sets all tourism and election policy.
The Secretary is the Chief Elections Officer of New Jersey. Prior to April 1, 2008, the electoral division was under the New Jersey Attorney General. The Secretary of State is also the chair of the board of State Canvasser, which certifies election results for federal and state office elections and public questions.
In New Jersey, registry of corporations is not the responsibility of the Secretary of State. The New Jersey Department of the Treasury is responsible for the maintenance of corporate records.
In New Jersey, the Secretary of State serves a term of office concurrent with that of the Governor. Although the conventional wisdom is that the Secretary of State cannot be removed from office except "for cause" by the Governor or by way of legislative impeachment, a recent law review article argues that the Governor does not have the authority to remove the Secretary of State "for cause," and this issue has not been tested.
The current Secretary of State is Tahesha Way.

List of office holders

Holders of the office of Secretary of State include:
#Secretary of StateTermGovernorParty
1Charles Pettit1776–1779William LivingstonFederalist
2Bowes Reed1778–1794
3Samuel W. Stockton1794–1795
4John Beatty1795–1805
5James Linn1805–1820Democratic Republican
6Daniel Coleman1820–1830
7James Westcott1830–1840
8Charles McChesney1840–1851Daniel Haines
9Thomas Allison1851–1861
10Whitfield Johnson1861–1866
11Horace Congar1866–1870
12Henry Kelsey1870–1897
13George Wurts1897–1902
14Samuel Dickinson1902–1912Woodrow Wilson
15David Crater1912–1915Woodrow Wilson
16Thomas Martin1915–1926
17Joseph Fitzpatrick1926–1931
18Thomas A. Mathis1931–1941Harold G. Hoffman
A. Harry Moore
19Joseph Brophy1941–1946Charles Edison
Walter F. Edge
20Lloyd B. Marsh1946–1954Walter F. Edge
Alfred E. Driscoll 		Republican
21Edward J. Patten1954–1962Robert B. Meyner Democratic
22Robert J. Burkhardt1962–1970Richard J. Hughes Democratic
23Paul Sherwin1970–1972William T. Cahill
ActingRobert Falcey1972–1974WIlliam T. Cahill
24J. Edward Crabiel1974–1977Brendan ByrneDemocratic
ActingFrancis Carragher1977Brendan ByrneDemocratic
ActingGeorge Lee1977Brendan ByrneDemocratic
25Donald Lan1977–1982Brendan ByrneDemocratic
26Jane Burgio1982–1990Thomas H. Kean Republican
27Joan Haberle1990–1992James Florio
28Daniel Dalton1992–1994James Florio
29Lonna Hooks1994–1998Christine Todd Whitman
ActingCarol Cronheim1998–1999Christine Todd Whitman
30DeForest Soaries1999–2002Christine Todd Whitman
Donald DiFrancesco 		Republican
31Regena Thomas2002–2006James E. McGreevey
Richard Codey
32Nina Mitchell Wells2006–2010Jon S. Corzine
33Kim Guadagno2010–2018Chris Christie Republican
34Tahesha Way2018–presentPhil Murphy Democratic