News Track: FBI seeks more on suspected double voting cases

CEDAR RAPIDS - An investigation into suspected double voting in the 2016 general election is continuing nearly five months after it was discovered by the Linn County Auditor's Office.

BACKGROUND

In July, Linn County Auditor Joel Miller said his office became aware of five instances of suspected double voting - when a voter casts two ballots in two separate voting jurisdictions in the same election. His office was cross-checking annual voting records from Linn County with records from about 30 other states that participate in the Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck program.

It was the first time his office matched people voting in Linn County and in another state of Election Day.

The information on the suspected double voting was handed over to the Linn County Attorney's Office and the FBI.

WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE

The FBI has asked the auditor's office for more information on two of the cases, including a request on one of the cases just recently, Miller said.

The FBI office in Omaha did not respond to questions from The Gazette about the investigations.

Miller said an FBI agent 'showed interest” in one case a few weeks ago and asked for more information on another. Beyond that, he said he doesn't know any more about the status of the investigation.

'I'm just happy they are even looking at them,” Miller said.

In addition to the five cases of suspected double voting, Miller referred information about possible felon voting and other election violations.

A match doesn't necessarily mean someone has double voted. It is not uncommon for multiple voters to have the same first and last names, and even birth dates.

The Iowa Secretary of State's Office received voter information from 27 other states and found 124 cases of a 'solid match,” individuals suspected of voting in Iowa and another state, according to spokesman Kevin Hall. In those cases, the name, date of birth and last four numbers of an individual's Social Security number all matched.

Secretary of State Paul Pate turned over all of the information to county attorneys who are responsible for determining whether there is an actual match.

'It's in their hands at this point,” Hall said. 'Unfortunately, they're not required to report back to us on these instances. That changes with the new Election Integrity law, as county auditors are required to report to the state any suspected misconduct that they refer to law enforcement.”

While it's not uncommon that voters who have moved will be registered to vote in multiple jurisdictions, Miller said actively casting ballots twice in the same election is deliberate.

In the Linn County cases, three of the suspects appeared also to have cast ballots in Arkansas, another in Nebraska and the fifth in South Carolina. Four of the voters were registered no-party in Iowa, while the fifth was a registered Democrat.

A person who votes or attempts to vote more than once in the same election is guilty of first-degree election misconduct, a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $750 to $7,500 fine.

l Comments: (319) 398-8375; james.lynch@thegazette.com