Secretary of State of Florida

Secretary of State of Florida
Secretary of State of Florida
	Official seal
	Incumbent; Cord Byrd; since May 16, 2022
Inaugural holder	James T. Archer; 1845
Formation	Florida Constitution; 1838
Website	dos.fl.gov

The secretary of state of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 state constitution.^[1] Like the corresponding officials in other states, the original charge of the secretary of state—to be the "Keeper of the Great Seal"—has expanded greatly since the office was first created. According to the state website, "Today, the Secretary of State is Florida's Chief of Elections, Chief Cultural Officer, the State Protocol Officer and the head of the Department of State."^[1]

The current secretary is Cord Byrd.^[2]

History

During the territorial period of Florida, the secretary of the territory was one of two major appointed positions within the executive department of the territory. Like the governor, the secretary was originally appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by Congress. The job of the secretary was similar to that of a modern-day lieutenant governor, assuming administrative responsibilities of the territory in the absence of the governor. For example, the first secretary of the territory George Walton served as Acting Governor of the Territory until William P. Duval assumed office later that year.^[when?] Walton was the first civilian to act in this capacity following the American acquisition of Florida.

The modern-day Department of State and the position of Secretary of State dates to 1845, when Florida achieved statehood. The secretary of state of Florida was elected by the people of the state in a general election. In 1998,^[3] constitutional changes removed the secretary of state from the elected Cabinet of the executive branch.^[4] That year, Katherine Harris won the last election for secretary of state^[5] and since 2002, the secretary of state of Florida has been appointed by the governor.^[6]

List of secretaries of the Territory of Florida

#	Name	Term of service
1	George Walton	1822–1827
2	William M. McCarty	1827–1829
3	James Westcott	1829–1834
4	George K. Walker	1834–1835
5	John P. Duval	1837–1839
6	Joseph McCants	1840–1841
7	Thomas H. Duval	1841–1845

List of secretaries of the State of Florida

Secretaries of state by party affiliation
Party		Secretaries of state
Republican		20
Democratic		16
Whig		1

#	Name	Term of service	Political party
1	James T. Archer	1845–1848	Democratic
2	Augustus Maxwell	1848–1849	Democratic
3	Charles W. Downing Jr.	1849–1853	Whig
4	Frederick L. Villepigue	1853–1863	Democratic
5	Benjamin F. Allen	1863–1868	Democratic
6	George J. Alden	1868	Republican
7	Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs	1868–1873	Republican
8	Samuel B. McLin	1873–1877	Republican
9	William D. Bloxham	1877–1880	Democratic
10	Frederick W. A. Rankin Jr.	1880–1881	Democratic
11	John L. Crawford	1881–1902	Democratic
12	Henry Clay Crawford	1902–1929	Democratic
13	William Monroe Igou	1929–1930	Democratic
14	Robert Andrew Gray	1930–1961	Democratic
15	Thomas Burton Adams Jr.	1961–1971	Democratic
16	Richard Stone	1971–1974	Democratic
17	Dorothy Glisson	1974–1975	Democratic
18	Bruce Smathers	1975–1978	Democratic
19	Jesse J. McCrary Jr.	1978–1979	Democratic
20	George Firestone	1979–1987	Democratic
21	James C. Smith	1987–1995	Republican
22	Sandra Mortham	1995–1999	Republican
23	Katherine Harris	1999–2002	Republican
24	James C. Smith	2002–2003	Republican
25	Ken Detzner	2003	Republican
26	Glenda Hood^[a]	2003–2005	Republican
27	David E. Mann	2005	Republican
28	Sue M. Cobb	2005–2007	Republican
29	Kurt S. Browning	2007–2010	Republican
30	Dawn K. Roberts	2010–2011 (interim)	Republican
31	Jennifer Kennedy	2011 (interim)	Republican
32	Kurt S. Browning	2011–2012	Republican
33	Ken Detzner	2012–2019	Republican
34	Mike Ertel	2019	Republican
35	Jennifer Kennedy	2019 (interim)	Republican
36	Laurel Lee	2019–2022	Republican
37	Cord Byrd	2022–present	Republican