Skip to content
Democracy SENTRY
Voting in your state
UpdateIowaWednesday, November 4, 2026

Republican Paul Pate won reelection as Iowa secretary of state

By the Democracy SENTRY deskPublished

Reporting by
Ottumwa Courier
“Republican Paul Pate wins reelection for secretary of state in Iowa”, Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Read the full story
What happened

Republican Paul Pate won reelection as secretary of state in Iowa.1

What it means in Iowa

What the secretary of state does in Iowa

The Secretary of State is one of five members of the State Canvassing Board, which compiles the official abstract and certifies the results.2 The State Canvassing Board must complete the statewide canvass no later than 27 days after the election, November 30, 2026, if there is no recount or election contest.3

Key dates in Iowa

Election Day in -6 days
  1. Wed, Oct 14 · passed
    Early voting begins
  2. Mon, Oct 19 · passed
    Last day for mail ballot applications
  3. Mon, Nov 2 · passed
    Early voting ends
  4. Tue, Nov 3 · passed
    Election Day; Registration deadline; Mail ballots must arrive
  5. Mon, Nov 30 · 21 days
    State certification

Every date in Iowa, and who certifies the election

More on this story
Iowa · Nov 3
Linn County to revisit stand-alone elections office proposal
Reporting by The Gazette (Cedar Rapids)
The answers behind this
Who runs elections, and who can't interfereVoting in Iowa, 2026Who certifies the election in Iowa, and by when?

Explore this issue

OverviewUpdates In depthSan Patricio County released unofficial results for Nov. 3 election In depthPage County, Iowa released unofficial results for November 3, 2026 election In depthWood County, Wisconsin reported 32,459 ballots cast with one provisional ballot outstanding In depthArizona reports unofficial results for 2026 midterm races In depthVoting delayed in several Michigan counties due to tabulator problems In depthArizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes leads by 17 points in early returns In depthArizona secretary of state race remains too close to call In depthArizona voters decided eight statewide ballot propositions In depthVirginia sets December 7 date to certify 2026 election results In depthWestchester County voters encountered paper ballot issues In depthFlorida puts the governor's party first on the ballot In depthJustice Department plans to send monitors to three Ohio counties

Sources

  1. Ottumwa Courier, https://ottumwacourier.com/news/state_news/republican-paul-pate-wins-reelection-for-secretary-of-state-in-iowa/article_3de8fe5b-984a-5f43-ba5c-efc188651d88.html · Wednesday, November 4, 2026
  2. Bolts, Who counts our elections, https://boltsmag.org/whats-on-the-ballot/who-counts-our-elections/
  3. NCSL, Election Certification Deadlines, https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/election-certification-deadlines

Ask

Have a question about voting in Iowa?

Ask it here. If we do not have the answer yet, we will find it.