DES MOINES (AP) — Iowa’s top election official doesn’t plan to ask the Legislature for extra money to educate the public about a voter identification requirement that could soon become law, a move that advocacy groups say could impact how many people find out about the change.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate intends to use existing office funds to pay for voter education and outreach in connection to his proposal to require ID at voting polls. His office provided the details in response to a public records request by The Associated Press.
“We are not asking for any additional funding for this, because educating and encouraging people to vote is part of the duties this office already conducts,” said Kevin Hall, a spokesman for Pate, in an email Wednesday.
Rita Bettis, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, said she was troubled by the decision. She also pointed out a voter outreach plan wasn’t included in a draft of the bill.
“This needs to be a sincere, robust, good faith effort, and that’s especially true in a state like Iowa,” Bettis said, noting the state has one of the highest voter participation rates in the country.
The lack of extra money for public outreach is also concerning to Mary Rae Bragg, president of the League of Women Voters of Iowa. She credited Pate for taking the time to meet with her group recently to go over details of the bill but said outreach efforts require money.
“We know that if this is going to be done right, there has to be a good financial investment on the part of the state,” she said. “Otherwise there’s much of this that could turn into unfunded mandates, and that’s the last thing that the secretary of state wants to have happen. But how else are you going to do it if there isn’t the money at the state level?”
Pate has estimated needing $1 million to fully implement his voter ID bill, about half of which would go toward technology upgrades for counties around the state. Another portion would go toward the production of 85,000 state identification cards for voters who don’t have Iowa driver’s licenses. In recent weeks, Pate has indicated he can work with $400,000 for a “soft” rollout of the law. The ID requirement isn’t expected to go into effect until 2019.
Hall declined to provide information about how much is available in existing office funds for public outreach.
But he said the outreach will be “extensive,” utilizing social media, newspaper editorials and meetings with key groups that can help get the word out. He also said it would include radio and television advertisements.
According to public state data, the secretary of state’s office received roughly $2.8 million from Iowa’s general fund for the current budget year. It planned to spend about $1.3 million of that on elections and voter registration. The office has also previously received federal dollars to help with its elections.
Sen. Jeff Danielson, a Cedar Falls Democrat, used to chair the Senate committee that typically oversees elections bills. Danielson said he’s been reviewing Pate’s budget numbers for years and said there aren’t enough dollars — state or federal — available to offset all the purported expenses to come.
“To say that you’re going to make all these changes based on election policy and to say that you have the current money to do it, defies what he has told the Legislature in the past,” Danielson said.
Sen. Roby Smith, R-Davenport, oversees one of the committees that will review the bill. Smith told AP that he and another key lawmaker, Rep. Ken Rizer, R-Marion, were working together on possible changes to Pate’s voter ID proposal. He said Wednesday he trusts Pate’s assessment on finances when it comes to voter outreach.
“We’ll have discussions. We’ll make sure there’s adequate amount of money to get it out,” Smith said. “And we’ll take a look at his budget and make sure there’s enough money in there.”