Michael A. Mauro was elected Iowa’s 30th Secretary of State on November 7, 2006.

As Secretary of State, Mauro has carried his philosophy – from the county to the state level – of utilizing technology, simplifying services, cutting costs and eliminating the red tape that hampers the delivery and effectiveness of services to Iowans. Prior to being elected, Mauro served the residents of Polk County for nearly a decade as county auditor. He strongly believes that government should work for its citizens – not against them.

Since being elected, Secretary Mauro has worked to further strengthen Iowa’s rich history of quality elections. Secretary Mauro worked alongside the Iowa Legislature to allow citizens the ability to register to vote on Election Day (same-day registration). In addition to making voting more accessible, Mauro has ensured the highest ethical standards are in place during the voting process. During his first term, Mauro worked tirelessly to establish a uniform voting system for all 99 counties. As a result, legislation was passed to ensure all future elections would have a true voter-verified paper trail. In 2009, Mauro worked closely with the Cerro Gordo County Auditor to make electronic poll books available for use in counties across the state. The electronic poll books will enhance Iowa precinct officials’ ability to process voters effectively and consistently on election day. In addition, the poll books add an extra layer of security to the voting process.

During the 2008 General Election, Iowa saw the fifth highest percentage turnout in the nation^[i] and had the highest rate of young voter participation (18- to 24-year-olds)^[ii]. Secretary Mauro’s office also took the honor of having the top elections website in the country during the 2008 election season according to a leading national election research group^[iii]. In the fall of 2009, Iowa’s election laws and procedures implemented by Secretary Mauro gained national attention when the state ranked first in a study focusing on the ease of voting for members of the military and U.S. citizens living overseas^[iv].

While in office, Secretary Mauro has sought ways to save Iowa taxpayers money. Mauro worked to consolidate city, school and special elections and establish the ability for county auditors to use vote centers in these types of elections. With these changes, participation is expected to increase in these historically low turnout elections and local jurisdictions should begin to see significant savings in election costs.

In addition to cutting costs on the local level, in the spring of 2009, Mauro brought IT support for the statewide voter registration and election management system in-house, saving taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

Since Mauro took office, much progress has been made in the business services division. In 2009, the development of a new corporations database is paving the way for online corporate filings beyond the biennial report. Currently, the majority of business filings are done electronically and advancements for additional filings will continue.

The online business center allows business to be conducted 24-hours a day, seven days a week and currently provides access to over three million filed documents and a complete array of forms, applications, and searchable databases for businesses, lending institutions and interested citizens.

Over 95% of the corporations reports and over 90% of the UCC filings are filed online. Under Secretary Mauro’s administration, the business services division will continue to develop, maintain and implement online services which are efficient, secure and responsive to customer’s needs.

As a former high school government teacher and coach, Mauro has also proven his commitment to Iowa’s youth. He is dedicated to increasing civic awareness among young people and often visits schools and civic groups to stress the importance of voting, voter education and election reform. Every year, hundreds of students visit the State Capitol for Secretary Mauro’s sponsored events – Capitol Project and Capitol Youth Day – to learn about the legislative process and the importance of being civically engaged.

Secretary Mauro is also a strong advocate for disabled Iowans working closely with the Iowa Governor’s Developmental Disabilities Council (GDDC), Iowa Protection and Advocacy Services, Inc., and Iowans with Disabilities in Action (ID Action) on a number of issues. Secretary Mauro continues to work in close collaboration with these groups to make Iowa one of the top states in the nation in polling site accessibility. Secretary Mauro’s office co-sponsors an annual civic event with the GDDC – Advocating Change Day – which works on engaging disabled Iowans in the legislative process.

In 2008, the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa honored Secretary Mauro with the “Distinguished Service Award,” for his integrity and commitment to ensuring all blind Iowans have access to an accessible voting machine with a paper trail at every precinct in all local, state and federal elections.

Secretary Mauro is a voting member of the Iowa Executive Council and chair of the State Voter Registration Commission. He is also a member of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). There, he serves on the Presidential Primaries, Elections and Voter Participation Committees. In 2003, Mauro earned the designation of Certified Elections/Registration Administrator (CERA), the highest professional achievement in the field of election administration.

Mauro is a graduate of Drake University. He and his wife, Dorothy, have three children and are the proud grandparents of four grandchildren. The Mauro family lives in Des Moines.