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Record Group Number: 000151
Series/Collection Number: .S 1966
Creator: Florida. Office of Secretary of State.
Title, Dates: Secretary of State transition period correspondence, 2001-2003.
Amount: 1 cubic ft.
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement: Roughly by administration, then by topic.
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Biographical/Historical:     On August 5, 2002, following the resignation of Secretary of State Katherine Harris to run for Congress, Governor Jeb Bush appointed Jim Smith as acting secretary to serve until January 7, 2003.  Smith had previously served as Secretary of State from 1987 to 1995.  On January 7, 2003, Governor Bush appointed Kenneth W. "Ken" Detzner as interim secretary until Secretary-designee Glenda E. Hood assumed her duties.  Detzner had served as chief of staff under acting Secretary Smith.  These appointments coincided with the transition of the Department of State from an independent agency led by a constitutionally-elected cabinet officer to a Governor's agency with an appointed secretary.
Summary:     This series contains correspondence to and from Secretaries of State Katherine Harris, Jim Smith, and Ken Detzner in the period following the disputed 2000 presidential election, Harris' resignation to run for Congress, and the successive temporary appointments of Jim Smith and Ken Detzner.  The records document issues such as complaints of voting and vote-counting problems in the 2000 election and the election reform efforts that followed; and the legality of actions taken by the Department of State in the last days of Harris' administration and the interim prior to the appointment of Jim Smith.  State law required Harris to have resigned on July 15, the day she qualified to run for Congress, because she did not submit a resignation letter that day outlining when she would step down; the law states that incumbents who decide to seek another office are considered resigned immediately if they don't submit such documentation.

    The series also includes more routine documentation of funding and advocacy efforts for Florida's arts, cultural affairs, historical resources, and library programs during this period.
Finding Aids: Folder listing available.
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Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields: Harris, Katherine, 1957-
Smith, Jim, 1940-
Detzner, Ken.
Florida. Office of Secretary of State.
Secretary of State.
Elections Florida
Presidents Election 2000 United States
Letters. aat
Florida Officials and employees
Florida Politics and government 1951-
Added Entries