Elaine Marshall, North Carolina secretary of state, told Elon students Wednesday that economic development for all areas of the state is one of her primary goals.
“Our metropolitan areas continue to grow, but common sense tells you that it won’t work for all of our citizens to crowd into such small spaces,” Marshall says. “It’s up to us to continue to find ways to attract new businesses and new job opportunities for all North Carolinians.”
Secretaries of State nationwide received a recent, if unwanted, boost in visibility with the recent presidential election. Marshall says the scenario that played out with Katherine Harris in Florida could not be repeated in North Carolina.
“We have a separate Director of Elections who is responsible for election and recount procedures,” Marshall says. In North Carolina, the governor appoints the Director of Elections, and that person must sever any political party ties before taking office. “My only role in elections is to certify the final results, but I have no role regarding the counting of votes,” Marshall says.
Marshall’s office oversees a variety of governmental duties and functions, including notary publics, land records, the licensing of sports agents and virtually all public record keeping. “I joke that anything that the General Assembly wants to keep track of, they send it to me,” Marshall says.
Marshall became the first woman elected to a statewide executive branch office in North Carolina in 1996. She also served a term as a state senator from the 15th district.
Marshall spoke to Betty Morgan’s Winter Term class titled “North Carolina Politics and Policy.”
-30-