Honorable Charles E. Summers, Jr.
Maine's 48th Secretary of State
Charles E. Summers, Jr. is Maine's 48th Secretary of State. Born in Danville, Illinois in 1959, he grew up in Kewanee, Illinois, and presently resides in Scarborough. In 1990, he became the first-ever Republican elected to Maine State Senate District 31 representing Scarborough, Saco, Old Orchard Beach, and Dayton.
The Secretary of State has jurisdiction over the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, registering more than 1.5 million motor vehicles and licensing 1 million drivers; the Bureau of Corporations, Elections, and Commissions, which conducts all state elections from the county level to President of the United States, registers nearly 70,000 business and non-profit entities, files commercial liens under the Uniform Commercial Code, and oversees some 27,000 Notaries Public; and the Maine State Archives, perhaps the physically largest component of the department, which secures some 96 million permanent records and nearly 200 million other non-permanent public records dating back to 1639.
Historical List of Secretaries of State, 1820-present. Provided by the Law and Legislative Reference Library.
