The Secretary of State of the State of Oklahoma is the chief clerical officer of Oklahoma and a member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet. The Secretary of State is the only appointed constitutional member of the executive branch of the Oklahoma state government. The office of Secretary of State was elective from statehood until 1975 when the Constitution was amended and it became an appointive office, running concurrent with the Governor effective in 1979.

Democrat John Rogers served the longest in office, having been elected three times to serve. He only served eight and one-half years, however, when he resigned just six months after taking office for the third time for a four-year term. The shortest term of any Secretary of State was just nine days, served by H. G. Oliver in 1915. He was appointed to fill the job after the resignation of Ben F. Harrison. He left office when newly elected Joseph Lucien Lyon took office on January 15, 1915. Although she was named as "interim" by Governor Mary Fallin and served only one month, Republican Michelle Day is considered the 31st Secretary of State.

The Oklahoma Constitution sets the requirements to hold the office of Secretary of State: the appointee must be a citizen of the State of Oklahoma, at least thirty-one years of age and a resident of the United States for ten years, the same as all high-level executive branch officials.

The Governor appoints, with confirmation by the Oklahoma Senate, the Secretary of State to serve a four-year term that runs concurrently with the term of the Governor. As the office is not elective (the only appointive constitutional office in Oklahoma), a Secretary of State may succeed himself/herself in office as many times as the Governor-elect appoints and the state Senate confirms him or her.

The Secretary of State is required by law to attest to the Governor's signature and to file all the official acts of the Governor. Executive orders, appointments and proclamations signed and issued by the Governor are certified and distributed by the Secretary of State. Original certificates of pardons and paroles, including revocation of same are recorded and filed in the Office of the Secretary of State. Extraditions, both foreign and domestic, are also recorded and maintained by the Secretary. The office is the custodian of the Seal of Oklahoma. The Secretary of State is an ex officio member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet.

As required by the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act and Executive Order 88-16, the Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing and operating the Office of Administrative Rules (OAR). OAR files all rules, rule making notices, and executive orders issued by all state agencies and the Governor. OAR collects all such rules and represents them to the Governor for his approve or disapproval. With very limited exceptions, no agency rule may be enforced until it is filed with OAR, approved by the Governor, and then published by OAR.

The most important, though ceremonial, function of the Secretary of State is to "sacredly preserve" the original State Constitution signed in 1907.

After legislation has been passed and signed by the Governor, along with the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House, the Secretary of State is required to fill and record the original acts in the Office of the Secretary of State. Each act is designated a chapter number and published in the Oklahoma Session Laws and the Oklahoma Statutes. The Secretary of State is also required to distribute copies of all new laws, as soon as possible, to each of the seventy-seven County Court Clerks. The original acts and resolutions are bound into volumes and then preserved by the Secretary's office.