The Commonwealth Secretary's responsibilities are vast and varied, ranging from the custody of the state seal to the administration of elections, the maintenance of public records, the filing and distribution of regulations and public documents, the corporate registration, and the recording of appointments and commissions. The Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is also responsible for storing historical data and preserving historic sites. William Francis Galvin currently serves as Secretary of Massachusetts to the Commonwealth. He has a proven track record that includes increased turnout and an expanded vote-by-mail program that is putting democracy in the hands of tens of thousands of Massachusetts voters.
The election for Massachusetts Secretary of State is a battle between different generations over who can best represent the state today. The Secretary of State or Commonwealth Secretary of State, as he is officially known in Massachusetts, oversees historical and public records, including the recording of deeds. When forming an LLC in Massachusetts, documents must be filed with the Massachusetts Secretary of State to keep it in good standing. Under Article XVII of the Massachusetts Constitution, an executive officer of the commonwealth must have been an inhabitant of this state five years before his election or appointment.
As chief public information officer for the Massachusetts government, the Secretary of State is responsible for maintaining public records, administering elections, storing historical data, preserving historic sites, registering corporations, and filing and distributing regulations and public documents. A priority for the current Secretary is to finally approve and implement Election Day registration in Massachusetts. Even so, whoever wins the Democratic primary next month is favored to win in November because Massachusetts is a very blue state. The primary election for Massachusetts Secretary of State has become an intergenerational debate about who best represents the state in terms of electoral fairness, historic preservation and election maintenance.
