Pate in line to head national secretaries of state group

CEDAR RAPIDS — Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is in line to become president of the National Association of Secretaries of State next year after he was unanimously named president-elect at the group's summer conference in Philadelphia.

Pate said he was honored by the appointment because he shares the group's goal 'to conduct clean and fair elections, and to offer service at the speed of business, not the speed of government.'

Additionally, Pate's office received the Election Center's 2018 Professional Practice State Award for its training materials for poll workers. The award was presented during the National Association of State Election Directors' summer conference in Philadelphia.

The 'Storyboard Training for Poll Workers' paper provides step-by-step instructions for poll workers regarding various scenarios for implementing Iowa's voter ID requirements. The materials were submitted to all 99 county auditors in the state and distributed to poll workers. Pate credited his elections team, specifically Deputy Commissioner Ken Kline, who took the lead.

The Election Center created the Professional Practices Program in 1996 to provide a forum in which election officials could share their successful practices with other jurisdictions. Each year, the program recognizes outstanding efforts by election officials.

Note* Due to incorrect information supplied to The Gazette, Robert Giles was incorrectly identified in a picture with Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate and his staff members that appeared online and in the July 17 edition of The Gazette.