About the Secretary
Todd Rokita
Indiana Secretary of State
Biographical Information
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Todd and Kathy Rokita with
their son Teddy.
Since being elected as Indiana’s 59th Secretary of State in 2002, Todd Rokita has effectively redefined and modernized the Secretary of State’s office to provide Hoosier investors, businesses, and voters vastly better service and to promote Indiana’s economic vitality and prosperity for the future. He is committed to ensuring an open, collaborative approach to government and travels to each of Indiana’s 92 counties each year. Secretary Rokita has earned praise from across Indiana and beyond due to his leadership in the areas of election reform, combating investment fraud and other white collar crimes, civic involvement, and establishing Indiana as a vibrant economic force in a global economy.
Advancing Indiana through Technology ---
Secretary Rokita believes government will work best and serve citizens most effectively if it embraces commonsense innovations and modern technologies. Among the modern improvements now in place in Indiana due to Rokita’s leadership is a 21st century online service center for the more than 300,000 businesses registered through the Secretary’s office. This best-in-the-nation, real-time Internet portal gives Indiana entrepreneurs the ability to create and grow a business without spending valuable time navigating bureaucracy.
In recognition of Secretary Rokita’s leadership as an e-government pioneer, the National Federation of Independent Business named him the 2006 Small Business Statesman of the Year. Rokita with 8' stack of Folders Secretary Rokita stands alongside 8 foot stacks of folders that formerly held corporate documents before they were digitally scanned as part of the office's e-Services initiatives.
Secretary Rokita stands alongside 8 foot stacks of folders that formerly held corporate documents before they were digitally scanned as part of the office's e-Services initiatives.
Secretary Rokita’s commitment to innovation and the wise use of technology has resulted in a more advanced and secure election process that makes it easier for Hoosiers to register and cast votes and to have their votes count. He oversaw the construction of the Statewide Voter Registration System, which links all county voter lists and updates them in real time to eliminate duplications, save taxpayer dollars, and protect the integrity of the election process.
The modernization of Indiana elections is also evidenced in each of Indiana’s counties, where new generation technologies have replaced out-of-date voting equipment through an initiative coordinated by Secretary Rokita’s office. And Secretary Rokita continues to drive the evolution of the election process by promoting vote centers – a concept he introduced in Indiana whereby voters can conveniently cast their ballot in any one of multiple locations in their home county. This innovative voting is being piloted in three Indiana counties and Secretary Rokita continues to push for the expanded use of this taxpayer-focused innovation in the General Assembly.
Leading an Era of Reform ---
Secretary Rokita honors veteran poll workers in Posey County with Honorary Secretary of State awards. Secretary Rokita visits each of Indiana’s 92 counties at least once each year.
As the state’s Chief Elections Officer, Secretary Rokita has overseen Indiana elections during a decade that has been among the most significant in terms of sweeping, innovative election reforms in generations. He led the program that ensured every Indiana polling place is equipped to allow voters with disabilities to privately and independently cast their ballots.
In April of 2008, the US Supreme Court upheld another of the many notable reforms implemented by Secretary Rokita, ruling in favor of the state’s photo ID requirement at polling places and agreeing that Indiana is paving the road to better voter confidence for states by preventing voter fraud.
As former chair and ex-officio member of the Business Law Survey Commission, Secretary Rokita worked with leading private sector attorneys, professors, and corporate leaders to modernize and streamline Indiana's business laws to keep pace with the changing nature of commerce.
Protecting Hoosier’s Finances ---
Secretary Rokita has worked successfully with members of the Indiana General Assembly to lead a comprehensive overhaul of Indiana's securities statutes to ensure uniformity with federal and other state governments and provide protections for local investors. His Securities Division has taken the regulation of Indiana’s investment, mortgage broker, and real estate industries to new heights. The division seeks out the worst-of-the-worst white-collar criminals and works with law enforcement partners across the state to seek justice on behalf of victims of financial crimes.
Secretary Rokita and members of the Securities Division join Governor Daniels in his office for the signing of the updated Uniform Securities Act in 2007.
In 2004, Rokita created the Prosecution Assistance Unit, a highly specialized investigations team that has helped successfully prosecute 37 cases, resulting in nearly 300 years time sentenced in prison for the criminals and recovering more than $29 million for victims.
Secretary Rokita also created the first statewide investor education program to teach Hoosiers how to be smarter and safer investors by avoiding pitfalls created by scam artists.
National Recognition and Influence ---
Secretary Rokita’s leadership in these areas has earned him respect from across the nation and allowed him the opportunity to serve beyond Indiana’s borders. He was chosen by his fellow Secretaries of State to lead them as President of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) from 2007 – 2008. He advises the federal government on election reform matters as a member of the Board of Advisors of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). He has testified before the United States Congress multiple times and has spoken from coast to coast on Indiana’s model election reforms.
Secretary Rokita presents a prepaid phone card to RP1, chaplain, Glen Christman from Valparaiso at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
In 2008, as part of his duties as NASS president, Secretary Rokita led discussions relating to voting issues at the Overseas Vote Foundation’s Second Annual Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Voting Act Summit in Munich, Germany. While in Germany, Secretary Rokita visited Landstuhl Regional Air Force Base to hand-deliver to wounded U.S. troops the final package of prepaid phone cards donated to his office by Hoosiers. Secretary Rokita started the program to help injured troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan call their loved ones. The program resulted in more than 408,000 prepaid domestic calling card minutes delivered to the troops.
Also in 2008, on the invitation of the Department of Defense, Secretary Rokita and other secretaries of state traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan on a military voting oversight mission. The group’s task was to talk to our troops and military voting representatives and to assess the election preparations underway in the areas of combat.
Secretary Rokita (from left) and Election Division Co-director Brad King host a delegation of officials from Bavaria in Germany to discuss Indiana’s model election reforms.
Secretary Rokita has also traveled the world to maintain and increase Indiana’s important role in an increasingly competitive global economy. He served as the highest-ranking elected U.S. official on an economic development and cultural mission to Vietnam in 2005. Secretary Rokita has led delegations of fellow Secretaries of State on missions to Taiwan in 2007 and 2008 to conference with international leaders and strengthen economic ties, and he was the first statewide elected official to explore cultural and economic opportunities and meet with leaders in India, Germany, Switzerland, and China.
Conservative leadership ---
Secretary Rokita maintains a conservative approach to governing – achieving significant reforms and advancements without growing government. In fact, throughout his two terms in office, he has maintained a budget for his administration that is the generally the same as then Secretary of State Evan Bayh’s 1987 budget.
Secretary Rokita serves on the Board of Trustees for St. Joseph’s College of Indiana. He is a member of the Director's Circle of the Indiana Council for Economic Education, the Indiana State Bar, the Knights of Columbus, the National Rifle Association, and Employers in Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). He is a supporter of state and national Right to Life networks. He is a commercial-rated pilot and a member of the Civil Air Patrol, the Indiana chapter of the International Flying Farmers, and also volunteers flight time to transport people in need of non-emergency medical care to Midwest hospitals and clinics for treatment.
Secretary Rokita prepares to board a plane for an Angel Flight mission, a program where he volunteers to fly patients in need of medical treatment to hospitals and clinics around the Midwest.
In 2005, he was selected by The Council of State Governments to participate in the prestigious Toll Fellowship Program, and in 2006 was one of 23 leaders selected to participate in the Aspen-Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership, a program that recognizes the nation’s top younger elected officials.
After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wabash College, where he had the distinction of being an Eli Lilly Fellow, Secretary Rokita went on to obtain a law degree from the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis. After law school, he worked as a practicing attorney for several years before serving as General Counsel to former Indiana Secretary of State Sue Anne Gilroy and later as Deputy Secretary of State.
Secretary Rokita and his wife Kathy welcomed their first child, Theodore James Rokita, in February of 2008. While residing in Indianapolis during Secretary Rokita’s time in office, the family worships at St. Mary Parish. Secretary Rokita is also a member of St. Thomas More Parish in Munster.
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