Governor

A governor is the state's highest-ranking elected official, but his or her actual duties are more varied than, say, an elected member of the state legislature, whose main role is to propose and vote on new legislation. A governor's responsibilities vary from state to state depending on the constitution within that state. A governor's official duties can include signing bills into law, serving as commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard and militia forces, convening special sessions of the state legislature, delivering a "state of the state" address to citizens, granting commutations and pardons to prisoners and appointing people to various judicial and state offices.