March 28, 2024

Iowa aware of only handful of improper votes

IOWA CITY — Iowa’s top elections official, who is pushing for a voter identification requirement that could make it harder for some to vote, has only been informed of 10 votes that were potentially improper out of nearly 1.6 million counted statewide in the November election.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate’s office learned of a handful of cases of alleged double votes and votes cast by ineligible felons on Election Day that were counted, according to a summary of “general election irregularities” obtained by The Associated Press under the open records law.

Further review by the AP showed that most of the instances were mistakes rather than fraud, and may not have been stopped by an identification requirement. They included a non-English speaking citizen who mistakenly voted when he registered and again on Election Day, a felon whose voting rights had been restored in Wisconsin but not Iowa, and a non-citizen who turned herself in after learning later she shouldn’t have been eligible to vote.

Donald Trump easily beat Hillary Clinton in Iowa to carry the state’s six electoral votes in the Nov. 8 election.

The review shows that instances of improper voting were minuscule in Iowa, even as Trump calls for an investigation into voter fraud and Republicans who control the state Legislature consider restrictions. A Pate-backed bill introduced Wednesday calls for mandating that voters show certain state-approved identification, which would require 85,000 residents who lack driver’s licenses, passports and other accepted IDs to obtain new state voting cards and bring them to polls.

Iowa has been one of the most convenient places for residents to vote in the nation, and has among the highest voter turnout. The state has a long window for voting early, Election Day registration and polls that are required to stay open until 9 p.m.

A group representing Iowa’s 99 county auditors, who run elections in their jurisdictions, has opposed Pate’s plan.

“Our system is incredible here in the state,” said Johnson County Auditor Travis Weipert, noting that one vote out of 80,000 cast in his county remains under investigation. “Incredible. We have 99 auditors who work their tails off ... The system works perfect and they are trying to fix a problem that isn’t there.”

The only person charged with election misconduct in Iowa is Terri Rote of Des Moines, a Trump supporter who told police she voted twice because she believed the candidate’s claims that the election was rigged and that her first ballot wouldn’t be counted. Her attorney has argued in court documents that Rote is likely mentally ill and a judge is considering whether she’s competent to stand trial.

Polk County Attorney John Sarcone has said two other double voters will not be charged because they were confused and lacked criminal intent.

Police in Storm Lake declined to charge the non-English speaking man, who wasn’t sure whether he had voted absentee when he registered at the auditor’s office days before the election. Told by poll workers that he hadn’t voted, he cast another ballot on Election Day. The county later turned up his second ballot.

“It was an accident involving human error and it was unfounded as an actual fraud case,” said the city’s public safety director, Mark Prosser. “We found absolutely no skullduggery at all.”

Pate spokesman Kevin Hall said the summary obtained by AP was incomplete because county elections officials are not required to report all irregularities. He said the office would like to see that changed, although such a provision is not in the voter ID bill.

Pate has conceded that Iowa elections are clean but argues his plan is needed to keep them that way.

Asked which, if any, of the known irregularities the identification requirement would prevent, Hall was non-specific: “Secretary Pate’s Election Integrity Act is a comprehensive, technology-driven proposal aimed at streamlining the system, reducing human error and protecting against fraud.”

State data show that some voters who register on Election Day and confusion over Iowa’s restrictions on voting rights for felons have presented challenges for elections administrators.

Hall said auditors were still trying to confirm that an unspecified number of voters who registered Nov. 8 were legitimate. About 40 same-day registrants in the 2014 election listed addresses that were either wrong or didn’t respond to official inquiries, making their eligibility to vote where they did unclear.

Pate’s office says it learned of five felons who registered on Election Day and were allowed to vote. More than 35 others were flagged as potentially ineligible and cast provisional ballots, which were not counted after elections officials confirmed they had lost their voting rights.

“There were no irregularities here. It worked exactly as it should,” said Fayette County deputy auditor Ruth Ann Kearney, who said a felon’s provisional ballot wasn’t counted after further review.