West Virginia Secretary of StateGovernment

The West Virginia Secretary of State is a constitutional executive officer of the State of West Virginia, elected statewide to a four-year term. Its statutory mandate is to serve as the chief election official, maintain the state registry of corporations and business entities, regulate charities, commission notaries public, and act as the official keeper of the Great Seal of West Virginia and executive acts. Established under the original 1863 West Virginia Constitution when the state broke away from Virginia and was admitted to the Union during the American Civil War, Edgar C. Peirpoint served as the state's inaugural secretary of state.