James Melvin Miles (born October 10, 1941)[1] is an American politician and attorney who served as secretary of state of South Carolina from 1991 to 2003 and subsequently as chief of staff to the lieutenant governor of South Carolina Andre Bauer.
In 1990, Miles was elected as the first Republican secretary of state in South Carolina since Reconstruction.
[1] Miles attempted to abolish the secretary of state office and vowed to investigate charity fraud in South Carolina.
[2] In 1994, South Carolina passed a law cracking down on charity fraud.
[3] In July 2020, Miles was appointed as acting CEO of Open Technology Fund in the U.S. Agency for Global Media[4][5] despite having no technological expertise [6] or experience in internet freedom issues.