Secretary of State of Texas - wikipedia Secretary of State of Texas This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral. Please help improve it by replacing them with more appropriate citations to reliable, independent, third - party sources. ( March 2015 ) Seal of the Secretary of State of Texas James Earl Rudder State Office Building, housing Secretary of State offices, is a National Registered Historic Place Thomas Jefferson Rusk State Office Building has the elections office The Texas Secretary of State is one of the six members of the executive department of the state of Texas, in the United States. Under the Texas Constitution, the appointment is made by the Governor, with confirmation by the Texas Senate. Rolando Pablos is the 111th person to hold the office. He was appointed by Greg Abbott, and sworn in on January 6, 2017. The Secretary of State is the chief elections officer, the protocol officer for state and international matters, and the liaison for the governor on Mexican and border matters. The Secretary of State offices are in the James Earl Rudder State Office Building at 1019 Brazos Street in Austin ; the main building handles business and public filings, statutory documents, administrative code open meetings, and the UCC. The SOS elections office is on the second floor of the James Earl Rudder Building. The executive offices are in Room 1E. 8 in the Texas State Capitol. Contents 1 Duties 2 History 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Duties Under the Texas Constitution the Secretary of State is, with the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Commissioner of the Office of General Land and the Attorney General, one of the six members of the Executive Department. Of these offices all are elected by the voters in statewide elections except the Secretary of State, who is nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The Secretary of State administers the Texas Election Code, maintains public filings, and is the keeper of the State Seal of Texas. The Secretary of State also issues appointments for notaries public. History Main article : List of Secretaries of State of Texas The first Secretary of State of the Republic of Texas, Stephen F. Austin, was appointed by Texas President Sam Houston in 1836. Since then, Texas became a state of the United States in 1845 and there have been 109 Secretaries of State. See also List of company registers Texas portal References Jump up ^ `` National Register of Historic Places Listings -- January 16, 1998 ''. www.nps.gov. Retrieved 8 April 2018. Jump up ^ `` About the Office. '' Secretary of State of Texas. Accessed August 31, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Contact Us ''. www.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved 2018 - 08 - 08. Jump up ^ `` SOS Map and Driving Directions to the Texas Secretary of State Office. '' Secretary of State of Texas. Accessed August 31, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Thomas Jefferson Rusk Building. '' State Office of Risk Management. Accessed August 31, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Transmitting Documents to the Secretary of State. '' Secretary of State of Texas. Accessed October 24, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Constitutional Duties. '' Secretary of State of Texas. Accessed August 31, 2008. Jump up ^ `` GOVERNMENT CODE CHAPTER 406. NOTARY PUBLIC ; COMMISSIONER OF DEEDS ''. www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us. Retrieved 8 April 2018. Jump up ^ `` History of the Office. '' Secretary of State of Texas. Accessed August 31, 2008. External links Secretary of State of Texas Current statewide political officials of Texas U.S. Senators John Cornyn Ted Cruz State government Greg Abbott, Governor Dan Patrick, Lieutenant Governor & President of the Senate Rolando Pablos, Secretary of State ( appointed ) Ken Paxton, Attorney General Glenn Hegar, Comptroller ( Treasurer equivalent ) George P. Bush, Land Commissioner Sid Miller, Agriculture Commissioner Christi Craddick, Ryan Sitton, Wayne Christian, Railroad Commissioners Senate Kel Seliger, President pro tempore House Joe Straus, Speaker Dennis Bonnen, Speaker pro tempore Supreme Court ( civil ) Nathan Hecht, Chief Justice Debra Lehrmann John P. Devine Paul W. Green Jeff Brown Jeffrey S. Boyd Phil Johnson Eva Guzman Jimmy Blacklock, Associate Justices Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Sharon Keller, Presiding Judge Mary Lou Keel Bert Richardson Kevin Patrick Yeary Scott Walker Michael Keasler Barbara Hervey Elsa Alcala David Newell State of Texas Austin ( capital ) Topics Architecture Climate Cuisine Geography Government Healthcare History Languages Law Literature Media Newspapers Radio TV National Historic Landmarks Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks National Register of Historic Places Sites Sports Symbols Texans Tourist attractions Transportation Seal of Texas Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Gambling Politics Regions Ark ‐ La ‐ Tex Big Bend Blackland Prairies Brazos Valley Central Texas Coastal Bend Concho Valley Cross Timbers Deep East Texas East Texas Edwards Plateau Golden Triangle Hill Country Llano Estacado Northeast Texas North Texas Osage Plains Panhandle Permian Basin Piney Woods Rio Grande Valley Southeast Texas South Plains South Texas Texoma Trans - Pecos West Texas Metropolitan areas Abilene Amarillo Austin -- Round Rock Beaumont -- Port Arthur Brownsville -- Harlingen College Station -- Bryan Corpus Christi Dallas -- Fort Worth -- Arlington El Paso Houston -- The Woodlands -- Sugar Land Killeen -- Temple Laredo Longview Lubbock McAllen -- Edinburg -- Mission Midland Odessa San Angelo San Antonio -- New Braunfels Sherman -- Denison Texarkana Tyler Victoria Waco Wichita Falls Counties See : List of counties in Texas Secretaries of State in the United States AL John Merrill ( R ) AK Byron Mallott ( D ) AZ Michele Reagan ( R ) AR Mark Martin ( R ) CA Alex Padilla ( D ) CO Wayne Williams ( R ) CT Denise Merrill ( D ) DE Jeffrey Bullock ( D ) FL Ken Detzner ( R ) GA Brian Kemp ( R ) HI Doug Chin ( D ) ID Lawerence Denney ( R ) IL Jesse White ( D ) IN Connie Lawson ( R ) IA Paul Pate ( R ) KS Kris Kobach ( R ) KY Alison Grimes ( D ) LA Kyle Ardoin ( R ) ME Matthew Dunlap ( D ) MD John Wobensmith ( R ) MA Bill Galvin ( D ) MI Ruth Johnson ( R ) MN Steve Simon ( D ) MS Delbert Hosemann ( R ) MO Jay Ashcroft ( R ) MT Corey Stapleton ( R ) NE John Gale ( R ) NV Barbara Cegavske ( R ) NH Bill Gardner ( D ) NJ Tahesha Way ( D ) NM Maggie Toulouse Oliver ( D ) NY Rossana Rosado ( D ) NC Elaine Marshall ( D ) ND Al Jaeger ( R ) OH Jon Husted ( R ) OK Jim Williamson ( R ) OR Dennis Richardson ( R ) PA Robert Torres * ( D ) RI Nellie Gorbea ( D ) SC Mark Hammond ( R ) SD Shantel Krebs ( R ) TN Tre Hargett ( R ) TX Rolando Pablos ( R ) UT Spencer Cox ( R ) VT Jim Condos ( D ) VA Kelly Thomasson ( D ) WA Kim Wyman ( R ) WV Mac Warner ( R ) WI Doug La Follette ( D ) WY Edward Buchanan ( R ) DC Lauren Vaughan ( D ) Territories : AS Lemanu Mauga ( D ) GU Ray Tenorio ( R ) MP Victor Hocog ( R ) PR Luis Rivera Marín ( R ) VI Osbert Potter ( I ) Political party affiliations : 33 Republican 22 Democratic 1 Independent italics indicate no secretary of state in this state, closest equivalent listed * Acting Secretary of State Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Secretary_of_State_of_Texas&oldid=854033419 '' Categories : State agencies of Texas Secretaries of State of Texas State constitutional officers of Texas Hidden categories : Articles lacking reliable references from March 2015 All articles lacking reliable references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages Add links This page was last edited on 8 August 2018, at 14 : 19 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who appoints the secretary of state in texas
Answer: the Governor