How many states in the United States have an elected office of the attorney general?
Fourty-three of the states elect the attorney general. When did most of the 43 states begin to adopt this system? The bulk of it happened in the 1900s. Between 1900 and 1950 or so, most of the states converted to an elected attorney general system. The first one was the State of Massachusetts in 1855, and the most recent one is the State of Pennsylvania in 1978. So that tells you that this idea has its own sort of life to it. I should also point out that the role of the attorney general in the various states is very different. So Africa, too, should it decide to adopt the system, can choose what powers to give it or how to create the office. Most of the states put a one year limit for the attorney general so that next year you will get to elect again. So you will have term limits. But how can the states’ experience in the US be transferred to the African context which is much different than what’s in the US? Don’t forget we are talking about what’s been in the US for over 250 years. Yo
