Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate Talks About “Voter Ready” Initiative
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate discusses changes Iowa voters will be seeing at the polls in the near future.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate recently stopped by Mahaska County to talk about the new “Voter Ready” initiative that voters will be seeing in upcoming elections.
Pate met with media members, county officials, and residents to discuss the changes voters may be experiencing as they arrive at the polls, in which poll workers will ask voters to provide their Iowa driver’s license, or non-operator’s ID, a U.S. passport, veterans ID or military ID, and/or a voter ID card.
“We want to make sure that Iowan’s have all the tools they need to continue to be effective as voters,” said Pate during the discussion.
Pate explains that a voter who does not have an ID will still be allowed to cast a regular ballot after signing an oath that swears to their identity. Voters may also have another registered voter attest to their identity.
“We want people to understand, it’s as simple as registering to vote, having an ID, and voting,” explained Pate.”Voter registration, as you know it, has not changed a bit.”
Pate said that the program is in place to help with integrity, and making the system as efficient as possible for county auditors to process the election. There are over 1.9 million voters in Iowa.
The 2018 election cycle is a “soft roll-out” of the new system. During 2018, if a voter were to arrive at their polling location without one of the approved ID’s, they will still get to vote by signing an affidavit stating who they are.
Pate said that for Iowans that didn’t have a state drivers license or non-operator ID card, his office mailed out voter ID cards to the remaining eligible voters in the state in December of 2017.
93% of all Iowans already have their ID, in the form of their Iowa drivers license or non-operators ID. The bar code on the back of your ID is the important component to the system.
The plan is to utilize technology to help election officials be more efficient during elections. Ninety-two of Iowa counties already utilize EPolls, which consist of laptops that have the voter database, instead of massive lists printed out. “That technology helps make this process run so much smoother,” said Pate.
Former Iowa Legislator and local attorney Eric Palmer asked Pate if the desire was to stop someone that may be impersonating another voter.
Pate said that wasn’t the case with this system. “Our goal, we felt that with the technology that’s available, we needed to tap into that to better manage our elections. Yes, part of that is integrity, always is. That isn’t the primary issue.”
Pate said that the new system is in place to better help manage the elections for Iowans.
If you would like to learn more, you can visit the Iowa Secretary of State website HERE.
