You might call them their states' chief paper-pushers. Secretaries of state, after all, are responsible for some of the less glamorous, but necessary, tasks required to keep a state's government and businesses running smoothly. They are the keepers of important state documents, the processors of business filings and the overseers of state elections, maintaining a database of registered voters. In dozens of states, including California, the secretary of state commissions notaries public.
Alex Padilla, California's secretary of state, is taking the "paper" out of paper-pusher – literally. An engineer by training, Padilla has vowed to modernize the agency, starting by digitizing documents (including some chronicling the women's suffrage movement in the state) and creating bizfile California, an online portal making it easier for entrepreneurs to start and maintain businesses. His career at the secretary of state's office follows a stint as a Los Angeles City Councilmember (at 28, he was the youngest person to serve as council chair) and two terms in the California Senate.
The son of Mexican immigrants, Padilla is the first Latino secretary of state in California, and he has held the post since 2015. At the recent Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's annual leadership conference, Padilla sat down with U.S. News to talk about how he is bringing the agency into the digital era.
