John A. Gale (born October 23, 1940) is from North Platte, Nebraska, and served as the 26th Secretary of State of Nebraska from 2000 until 2019. He is a member of the

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Early life

John A. Gale was born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, and graduated from

Omaha North High School Omaha North High Magnet School is a public high school located at 4410 North 36th Street in the city of Omaha, Nebraska. The school is a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) magnet school in the Omaha Public Schools district. N ...

. He earned his B.A. in Government and International Relations at

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1866, it had 2,105 undergraduate students and 269 faculty members in fall 2016. The 200-acre main campus is between Northfield and the 800-acre Cowling ...

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W. N ...

in 1962. In 1965, Gale graduated with a J.D. from the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dist ...

Professional background

After law school, Gale held legal positions in the private and public sectors. He worked in the legal department at

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in Omaha. From 1968 to 1970, he served as a legislative assistant to

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Roman Hruska Roman Lee Hruska () (August 16, 1904April 25, 1999) was an American attorney and politician who served as a Republican U.S. senator from the state of Nebraska. Hruska was known as one of the most vocal conservatives in the Senate during the 1960 ...

of Nebraska and was responsible for agricultural appropriations, foreign relations, and constitutional law issues. In 1970, he returned to Nebraska to work as an

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, first in Omaha and then in Lincoln. Gale and his family moved to North Platte, Nebraska in 1971, where he entered the private practice of law. He practiced law there for 29 years. He is a former Chairman of the

Nebraska Republican Party The Nebraska Republican Party (NEGOP) is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Nebraska. The party is led by chair Dan Welch. Its headquarters is located in Lincoln. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all of Nebrask ...

, former Chairman of the Mental Health Board for Lincoln County, former President of the 11th Judicial District Bar Association, former Chairman for the North Platte Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee, and former President for the North Platte Sunrise

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. Gale ran unsuccessfully for the

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in 2000. He was defeated by former U.S. Representative

Tom Osborne Thomas William Osborne (born February 23, 1937) is a former American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and politician from Nebraska. He served as head football coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1973 to 1997 (25 season ...

for the Republican nomination.

Secretary of State

Gale was appointed to fill a vacancy at Secretary of State in December 2000 by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Mike Johanns. He was elected Secretary of State in 2002, defeating his

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opponent, Jay Stoddard. He was reelected in 2006, defeating Stoddard again. In 2010, Gale won re-election against

opponent Janet Stewart. In 2014, Gale won re-election against

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opponent Ben Backus. As Secretary of State, Gale implemented major election improvements in Nebraska to meet the requirements of the federal

Help America Vote Act The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (), or HAVA, is a United States federal law which passed in the House 357-48 and 92-2 in the Senate and was signed into law by President Bush on October 29, 2002.United States Department of Justice Civil Rights ...

. Under his leadership, all Nebraska counties received new ballot tabulation equipment and switched to a computerized statewide voter registration system. He promoted efforts to increase voter participation. Nebraska set new turnout records in both the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections. At his request, he was designated chief protocol officer for international relations by the Legislature. In that role, he promoted commerce, educational studies and cultural exchange between foreign nations and Nebraska. Gale was instrumental in getting the Legislature to overhaul and modernize state law dealing with notary publics. As secretary of state and chairman of the state Records Board, he pushed for increased and improved online access to state government. He championed efforts to provide civics education to the state’s youth, with the goal to encourage youth to become active citizens and lifelong voters. Gale was a national leader on election reform and was active in the National Association of Secretaries of State. He served on the Executive Committee for NASS, including as a past chairman of its Business Services and International Relations committees. He is a current member of the U.S. Standards Board for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and served in the past on the Technical Guidelines Development Committee for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. As Secretary of State, Gale was the chairman of the

Nebraska Real Estate Commission Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, and served on the Nebraska State Records Board, Nebraska Collection Agency Licensing Board, Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, the Nebraska Canvassing Board, and the Nebraska Pardons Board. He is a board member for Cornhusker Boys State and the NebraskaLAND Foundation.

Family

Gale's family includes his wife, Carol; sons David of North Platte, Nebraska, and Steven of Laramie, Wyoming; daughter Elaine of Los Angeles, California; and six grandsons.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gale, John A. 1940 births 21st-century American politicians Carleton College alumni Living people Nebraska Republicans People from North Platte, Nebraska Secretaries of State of Nebraska State political party chairs of Nebraska University of Chicago Law School alumni Omaha North High School alumni