About Paul Pate

Paul Pate is a nationally recognized small business and election security leader serving his third term as lowa’s Secretary of State.

Serving as lowa’s Commissioner of Elections, Pate has overseen clean, smooth elections in lowa. The state has broken records for voter registration and participation multiple times under his watch.

Paul Pate followed through on his 2014 campaign promises by making it easier for overseas military members to vote, instituting online voter registration, implementing the Safe at Home program for survivors of violence, and bringing Voter ID to lowa. He has succeeded in making it easy to vote, but hard to cheat in lowa’s elections.

Secretary Pate has received national awards for his initiatives to protect lowa’s election cybersecurity, improving ballot access lowans with disabilities, and for voter outreach.

His reforms in business filings for the State of lowa have greatly reduced government bureaucracy and provided the fast, efficient processing lowa’s business community deserves.

Paul has dedicated his life to public service. A former State Senator, Mayor of Cedar Rapids, and President of the lowa League of Cities, he was unanimously elected President of the National Association of Secretaries of State by his colleagues in 2019.

Paul was born and raised in lowa and is from Linn County. He and his wife, Jane, are the proud parents of three, and grandparents of five.