Latest news with #PaulPate
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iowa Secretary of State announces reelection campaign
DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced that he was running for reelection on his social media platforms on Saturday. Military parade marks Army's 250th anniversary amid protests In the video, he says that over his last decade in office, he has made it more secure to vote in the state by implementing voter ID and his efforts around cybersecurity. During his time in office, he said that Iowa has broken records for voter registration and participation in elections. His current term ends in 2027; he has held the office from 1995 to 1999, and then again from 2015 to the present day. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says he'll seek a fifth term in office in 2026 election
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate will seek a fifth term in office. Pate, a Republican, announced June 14 that he would run for reelection in 2026. 'I am thrilled to announce that I will once again be running to serve as your secretary of state, because we're not done yet,' said Pate in a video announcing his candidacy. In his announcement, Pate detailed key accomplishments the state has achieved under his leadership. 'Throughout my life as a public servant, I've been guided by three core principles: service, participation and integrity,' Pate said. 'During my time as Iowa Secretary of State, we've broken numerous records for voter registration and participation, we've been recognized as a top state for election administration and integrity and even earned awards for cyber security measures, accessibility for the disabled community, and poll worker recruitment and voter outreach.' He went on to discuss the importance of secure elections and promised to continue his mission of ensuring 'every Iowa business thrives (and) every eligible vote counts.' Pate previously served as Iowa's secretary of state from 1995-1999. He lost a primary bid for the Republican nomination for governor in 1998 and served as mayor of Cedar Rapids from 2002-2006. He ran again for secretary of state in 2014 before running for the office again in 2014. He won reelection in 2018 and 2022. The most recent election saw Pate defeat Democrat Joel Miller with 60% of the vote, compared to Miller's 39.9%. His current term will end on January 1, 2027. Pate has supported several changes to Iowa's election laws during his terms in office. Most recently, he backed a bills that give his office more tools to verify a voter's citizenship status and standardizes recount procedures. The legislation comes in response to the chaotic weeks leading up to the 2024 election, when Pate instructed county auditors to challenge the ballots of 2,176 registered voters who he suspected were not citizens based on a faulty list from the Iowa Department of Transportation. Ultimately, his office found 277 noncitizens on Iowa's voter rolls, including 35 noncitizens who successfully voted in the 2024 election and five more who tried to vote but had their ballots rejected. The last-minute moves faced criticism and legal challenges. Throughout his career, Pate has also served as a state senator and president of the Iowa League of Cities. He was unanimously elected president of the National Association of Secretaries of State in 2019, according to his campaign website, 'I'm Paul Pate, your secretary of state,' the video concluded. 'And I'm asking for your vote.' Norah Judson is a reporter for the Register. Reach her at njudson@ This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate to seek reelection in 2026
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says he'll seek a fifth term in office in 2026 election
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate will seek a fifth term in office. Pate, a Republican, announced June 14 that he would run for reelection in 2026. 'I am thrilled to announce that I will once again be running to serve as your secretary of state, because we're not done yet,' said Pate in a video announcing his candidacy. In his announcement, Pate detailed key accomplishments the state has achieved under his leadership. 'Throughout my life as a public servant, I've been guided by three core principles: service, participation and integrity,' Pate said. 'During my time as Iowa Secretary of State, we've broken numerous records for voter registration and participation, we've been recognized as a top state for election administration and integrity and even earned awards for cyber security measures, accessibility for the disabled community, and poll worker recruitment and voter outreach.' He went on to discuss the importance of secure elections and promised to continue his mission of ensuring 'every Iowa business thrives (and) every eligible vote counts.' Pate previously served as Iowa's secretary of state from 1995-1999. He lost a primary bid for the Republican nomination for governor in 1998 and served as mayor of Cedar Rapids from 2002-2006. He ran again for secretary of state in 2014 before running for the office again in 2014. He won reelection in 2018 and 2022. The most recent election saw Pate defeat Democrat Joel Miller with 60% of the vote, compared to Miller's 39.9%. His current term will end on January 1, 2027. Pate has supported several changes to Iowa's election laws during his terms in office. Most recently, he backed a bills that give his office more tools to verify a voter's citizenship status and standardizes recount procedures. The legislation comes in response to the chaotic weeks leading up to the 2024 election, when Pate instructed county auditors to challenge the ballots of 2,176 registered voters who he suspected were not citizens based on a faulty list from the Iowa Department of Transportation. Ultimately, his office found 277 noncitizens on Iowa's voter rolls, including 35 noncitizens who successfully voted in the 2024 election and five more who tried to vote but had their ballots rejected. The last-minute moves faced criticism and legal challenges. Throughout his career, Pate has also served as a state senator and president of the Iowa League of Cities. He was unanimously elected president of the National Association of Secretaries of State in 2019, according to his campaign website, 'I'm Paul Pate, your secretary of state,' the video concluded. 'And I'm asking for your vote.' Norah Judson is a reporter for the Register. Reach her at njudson@ This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate to seek reelection in 2026
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iowa Supreme Court overturns ruling, blocks non-English voting materials
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Supreme Court ruled against the League of United Latin American Citizens and overturned a district ruling allowing non-English voting materials. The 2002 'English-only' law requires all official documents to be in English unless necessary to maintain a person's Constitutional rights. In 2008, a district court ruled this applied to election materials, like ballots, and placed a permanent injunction barring the state from using non-English materials. Kimballton water tested safe following days of uncertainty LULAC sought to overturn that ruling a sued Secretary of State Paul Pate in 2021. A district court sided with LULAC in 2023, dissolving the injunction and allowing voting materials in other languages. Pate then appealed the ruling. On Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that LULAC lacked standing in the case and said there was no proof that the organization faced a direct injury to its legal rights. Following the ruling, Pate released a statement saying Iowa would continue to follow federal standards. This includes providing translated versions of official documents and forms in areas where certain population thresholds have been met. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iowa Supreme Court rejects LULAC's lawsuit over English-only voting materials
(Main photo by simpson33 via iStock / Getty Images Plus; seal courtesy State of Iowa) The Iowa Supreme Court has reversed a district court decision that cleared the way for election officials to distribute voter materials in languages other than English. Without directly addressing the merits of Iowa's law restricting the dissemination of government records in languages other than English, the court found that the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa lacked standing to bring its lawsuit challenging the state's application of the English Language Reaffirmation Act. Joe Enriquez Henry, president of LULAC Council #307, said he was disappointed in the court's decision. 'There are over 50,000 registered voters in the state of Iowa whose primary language is not English,' Henry said. 'This issue has an impact not only on Latinos but other ethnic groups and new citizens. This is a constitutional issue. You know, the right to vote is a constitutional issue, and language should never be a barrier to exercising that right. So, for the Supreme Court to say we lack standing to bring this case is totally wrong.' Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said in a statement: 'I appreciate the court's thoughtful consideration of this case. Today's ruling affirms our efforts to administer Iowa election laws securely, fairly, and in accordance with state and federal laws. We remain committed to maintaining a careful balance between protecting election integrity and supporting voter participation among all eligible Iowa voters.' Friday's ruling is tied to a 2007 case in which LULAC was not a party. In that case, a group that included then-U.S. Rep. Steve King, four county auditors, three state legislators and U.S. English Only Inc. filed a lawsuit against Iowa's secretary of state and the Iowa Voter Registration Commission challenging the provision of voter registration forms in languages other than English. The district court dismissed the claims of everyone but the county auditors, ruling only they had the standing to challenge the practice, and in 2008 ruled in favor of the auditors, finding that the Iowa English Language Reaffirmation Act unambiguously required all official government documents to be in English. While noting that language barriers could 'serve as an impediment to voting' and that exceptions outlined in the law 'might justify the use of non-English voter registration forms,' the judge noted that the secretary of state had never raised that argument. The district court enjoined the secretary of state and the Iowa Voter Registration Commission 'from using languages other than English in the official voter registration forms of this state.' Thirteen years later, in 2021, LULAC sued Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, the Iowa Voter Registration Commission, and several county auditors, arguing the law, correctly interpreted, allowed for the dissemination of voting materials in languages other than English. The district court ultimately granted LULAC's requests to dissolve the 2008 injunction. Pate's office appealed, and in addressing the matter, the Iowa Supreme Court said the primary question it faced was whether LULAC had standing to seek dissolution of the 13-year-old permanent injunction issued in the initial case and to seek a court interpretation of a law that did not cause any injury to LULAC itself. In its ruling Friday, the justices concluded the district court's 2008 decision 'had no effect on LULAC's rights, status, or legal relations … LULAC asks us to direct Secretary Pate to administer the law as LULAC wishes and to allow county officials to have the discretion to administer the law as LULAC wishes. In effect, LULAC is asking the judiciary to exercise the executive functions of the government at LULAC's behest. This the court cannot do.' As for LULAC's argument that it had standing in the case due to the injury it suffered by having to spend money translating documents for members, the justices noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled that a litigant 'cannot spend its way into standing simply by expending money' in response to a law it is attempting challenge. In finding that LULAC lacked standing to bring its lawsuit, the justices reversed the rulings of the district court and remanded the case back to district court for an order of dismissal. All of the justices concurred in the opinion, except for Justices Thomas D. Waterman and Edward M. Mansfield, who did not take part. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
