Elaine Marshall has served as the North Carolina Secretary of State since 1997, after being elected in 1996. She was a member of the North Carolina Senate in 1993-1994. Marshall has served as President of the National Association of Secretaries of State and continues to serve on its Board of Directors. She has also been appointed to Chair the Uniform Law Commission Advisory Committee and Co-Chair the Securities Committee.

Elaine Marshall has served as the North Carolina Secretary of State since 1997. Prior to this, she was a member of the N.C. State Senate from 1993-1994. Her earlier career included working as a teacher in the North Carolina public school system and community colleges, owning a small business, and practicing law as an attorney, where she defended victims of domestic violence and co-founded a Rape Crisis Center.

Elaine Marshall was born in rural Lineboro, Maryland, where her father was a farmer and her mother taught music lessons and served as the organist in their small rural church for over 60 years. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland and her law degree from Campbell University in 1981.