Secretary of State Paul Pate is running for election for his fourth term in office. 

According to his media release, Pate had submitted his filing of candidacy on Tuesday with over 7,250 signatures in support from various counties. 

Ever since his 2014 campaign promises of bringing Voter ID laws to Iowa, Pate has successfully defended his promises in court when challenged multiple times. 

“Election officials are the referees. We don’t wear team jerseys. I promised Iowans I would make it easy to vote, but hard to cheat in Iowa and the numbers speak for themselves. Since implementing Voter ID, we’ve had record-high turnout in four elections,” Pate said. “We also adopted post-election audits, that ensure the vote count is accurate. Because of the reforms we put in place, Iowans can be confident in the sanctity of their vote.”

Pate has been recognized nationally as a leader. He was unanimously chosen as the President of the National Association of Secretaries (NASS) in 2019. Additionally, the organization awarded Pate with the NASS IDEAS the same year for his election cyber security efforts in all 99 of Iowa’s counties.

Along with this award, he also received two awards from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission for improving accessibility for Iowans with disabilities. 

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate

Just this past month, Pate has rolled out a state initiative with local Iowa businesses across the state to combat Sex trafficking and further education on the topic. 

“Survivors of domestic violence, sexual abuse, trafficking, stalking, and assault can live without fear of their address becoming public record because of Iowa’s Safe at Home program. More than 1,200 Iowans are safer today because of the reforms we put in place,” Pate said.