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"It was a very good legislative session … it was definitely one of the more lively ones."
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate spent much of his time with members of the Marshall County Republican Party Friday discussing the recently-passed elections legislation.
"The primary one was the integrity and modernization bill on voting, and a big piece of that is voter ID," Pate said, referring to House File 516, which received Gov. Terry Branstad's signature.
He said there was a lot of push-back on the bill, and he mentioned the Americans Civil Liberties Union as a primary opposition organization. However, Pate said there are many misconceptions about the new law.
"In reality, what we did, I took the approach of we just needed an upgrade in technology," he said. "We are in the top four or five (states) … for voter participation in the nation."
Pate said he campaigned on having "participation and integrity" in voting. "I believe we have one of the most honest election systems in the country."
The new legislation, he said, offers checks and balances to verify whether or not someone is voting legally.
"The modernization system we want to go to … also expedites the process," Pate said. "You're walking up and you're handing the ID to [elections officials], and they're scanning it through and everything is right there on the screen, and they can go, you're done."
He said signatures on absentee ballot requests and a new, online e-poll books can also be used as checks and balances under the new system.
"The driver's license is the primary (ID) because 95 percent of our registered voters have a driver's license," Pate said, adding the remaining 5 percent will also have options. "Those individuals, we're going to mail a free card, a voter card, and it'll have the barcode on it, so the only thing they have to do is get up off the Lazyboy chair and go out to the mailbox and grab the card, and now they're set."
The first changes under the new law will be seen in January of 2018.
"What happens in January [and] any elections from that point forward, if you vote absentee, when you request your absentee ballot, you will put your voter ID number on there," Pate said. "Those that have the (voter) ID cards, they would use the number off of there; those that use a passport or military ID, there's a number on there."
After that, there will be a "soft rollout" of other provisions in the law. "When you go to vote they'll ask for your ID, but if you don't have it, nothing changes."
However, starting January of 2019, he said those who don't have proper voter ID under the law will have to vote provisionally.
"They still get to vote provisionally, and then we have and continue to give the latitude to the auditors on how to deal with those provisionals," Pate said, adding that voter registration hasn't changed under the new law. "Nobody who's an eligible elector will be turned away, nobody."
Another topic at the meeting was of the shortened absentee voting period under the same legislation.
"Under the old law, you could right now be requesting your ballot for an election that's a year away," Pate said. "Some people move and, sadly, some pass away, things happen."
He said the provision is a "tightening up" measure for absentee voting, and he compared the absentee ballots to "blank checks."
Additionally, Pate discussed the possibility of having voting centers throughout the state and in counties, rather than voting precincts. This, he said, would not be mandatory, but an option.
"You could vote at any of these centers, you don't have to go to a certain one," Pate said. "I think, with absentee ballots and satellite voting options, I really don't think you're going to need 14, 16 precinct sites, I think the trend is going the other way."
For more information on voting in Iowa, visit https://sos.iowa.gov/ and for more on HF 516, go to https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation