Iowa’s other big election

It's not getting nearly the attention of Iowa's tight U.S. Senate race, or even the lopsided race for governor, but the campaign to become Iowa's next Secretary of State is an intriguing, competitive and important contest.

We recently spent more than two hours with major party candidates for the office, Democrat Brad Anderson of Des Moines and Republican Paul Pate of Cedar Rapids. Anderson has worked in Iowa politics and campaigns for 12 years, including time as President Barack Obama's Iowa campaign chief in 2012. Pate served as Secretary of State from 1995 to 1999, made an unsuccessful run for governor in 1998 and served as Cedar Rapids mayor from 2002 to 2006.

It's a race we believe deserves a fair share of the spotlight. And that's in no small part due to the fact that we're eager to move past the controversial and politically divisive four-year term of current Republican Secretary of State Matt Schultz, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress, is now pursuing the Madison County Attorney position and is not seeking statewide re-election.

The Secretary of State in Iowa, among many duties, is the commissioner of elections. The centerpiece of Schultz's term has been a crusade to track down instances of voter fraud, mostly to provide a rationale for voter security measures he favors, such as requiring voters to show photo ID at the polls. But when the dust settled and his probe was concluded in May, Schultz reported just 27 criminal charges for voter misconduct. Of those, six were found guilty, one was found not-guilty, four were dismissed and 15 were, at that time, pending.

In many cases, the 'fraud” Schultz found was unintentional, including several felons confused by a policy switch caused by a change in governors. None of the cases uncovered by Schultz could have been avoided through a voter ID requirement.

The investigation's price tag topped $250,000, and was partially funded by federal Help America Vote Act funds. The state's Republican auditor warned Schultz that his use of those funds is likely inappropriate.

'I've never really considered running for public office before,” Anderson said. 'It was never something that was on my mind until 2012, and I grew frustrated with what I was seeing in the Secretary of State's office. In terms of what I believe to be wasting our taxpayer dollars trying to prove there's a wave of cheating in Iowa that simply does not exist.”

We asked Pate, who chaired Schultz's election campaign, if the Secretary of State had been too partisan in his pursuit of fraud.

'It isn't about being partisan as much as … communication,” Pate said. 'I spent a lot of time cultivating and working with those county auditors. Because that's an extension of what my programs will be. There's where, perhaps, a little more work could have been done.

'You're not the Lone Ranger. You're not the only one out there. When you start peeling it all back, what Sec. Schultz did - I can't really argue with what his goals were - but everybody got upset with how it was laid out, how it was presented. So, do you not think it's legitimate that he looked at felon issues?”

The good news is that both Anderson and Pate appear determined to chart a new, more bipartisan path.

'You can't be wearing one of the team jerseys when you're out on the field,” Pate said. 'You're the official. You're the guy or gal who is calling it based on the rules.”

But each candidate brings a different approach and emphasis.

'For Iowa elections, we have some terrific laws on the books,” Anderson said. 'We should be very proud of that. We have 40 days of early voting. We have no fault absentee voting, which means you don't need a reason to vote absentee. We were one of the earliest states to do that. We have satellite voting. We have voting at your county auditor's office. You can register to vote, in person, on election day, for 14 hours. No other state in the entire nation has this whole package.

'I don't think we have too many voters. I think we have too few,” Anderson said.

Pate says, ultimately, turnout is up to individual voters.

'There's really only so much I or whoever might be the Secretary of State can do. At some point in time it falls upon the people to take the initiative, to want to be part of it. I think the Secretary of State has to make sure the barriers are gone and the opportunities are made available to them to be involved in our election process.

'We aren't the cheerleader who gets them there to vote. That falls to the political parties, the candidates. That's why we never ultimately control voter turnout. But we certainly will not be the barrier that slows that component,” Pate said.

EXPAND MAIL VOTING

'No. 1, I think we need to get back to this bipartisan tradition in Iowa of encouraging people to participate in our elections and making it easier to vote,” Anderson said. 'And I think the best way to do that is to allow Iowans to sign up for a permanent vote by mail.

'And what I mean by that, currently the process is you have to request a ballot for every election. And what I believe you should be able to do is simply check a box and say ‘send me a ballot for every election.' What this would do is not only dramatically increase turnout in primary elections and general elections, but also local school board elections, and special elections and municipal elections where people lead busy lives and we've had a history of low participation in this state.

Pate says Anderson's idea should be 'on the table.”

'I think before you can launch into that we have to make sure we have a firm foundation, from a secure standpoint. I'm a big believer (that) before you can have participation in elections you have to make sure you maintain that integrity. And that means let's make sure our voter registration system is fully set up to assure Iowans of that,” Pate said. 'We've got a good reputation. But we need to protect it.”

Both candidates support modernizing the state's voter registration list and encouraging every Iowa county to use an electronic 'poll book” that shows vital information about voters who send in ballots or appear at the polls. But they differ on what information would be accessible through the poll book.

VOTER ID

Pate favors using Iowa driver's license information, so when a poll worker calls up the name of a voter, their photo, residence information and signature would be displayed. Pate contends county auditors could also use the signatures to check absentee ballots sent in by voters.

'We have 93 percent of our registered voters (with) a driver's license. So, 93 percent are already in our data system. It's that last 7 percent that we have to work on to come up with an option for how we would deal with them and make sure we keep the integrity that we want,” said Pate.

So under Pate's system, voters wouldn't have to show ID at the polls, but they would need a driver's license or equivalent state-issued photo ID to be included in the poll book.

'I'm not really trying to make it harder for people. I'm trying to make it easier. Once you're in the system. It's like, no different than when you become a Sam's (Club) member. You walk in. There, they ask you for a card, and I don't think anybody is dramatically offended or hurt.

'People who come in and don't have a driver's license we want to help them get an ID,” Pate said.

Anderson is wary of making driver's licenses or another state-issued ID a requirement for voting. He contends the low threat of voter impersonation doesn't outweigh the possibility that a new requirement could stop eligible Iowans from voting.

'I support the current voter ID law,” Anderson said. 'The current law on the books says that any poll worker can ask any voter for their ID in any election. And the reason I support this law is it has worked. This has worked now for decades. It has prevented fraud for decades.

'And so, when I'm talking to county auditors, they're not suggesting we need what Paul Pate is suggesting. They're suggesting they need money to update our polling equipment. They're suggesting we need a modern voter file that doesn't shut down when everyone's using it.,” Anderson said.

TECHNOLOGY, COST

Both candidates talk a lot about the need for new technology. Between them, they expressed support for expanding and beefing-up the electronic poll book, updating and modernizing the voter list, updating outdated software, expanded mail voting, implementing signature scanning and addressing growing equipment concerns from county auditors promise to be expensive.

But neither Pate nor Anderson could put a price tag on their goals.

'I would like to see us have as much of this technology as we can in place in 10 years. I think it's very doable,” Pate said.

'It is going to take a lot of time and a lot of money,” Anderson said.

Anderson and Pate each expressed hope that the federal government would come up with resources to assist the state and county auditors.

SIDEBAR - Business Services

Although the Secretary of State's office gets most media attention from its work on voting and elections, it's largest job is providing business services.

The office processes tens of thousands of business documents and filings each year, including articles of incorporation for new firms. Both candidates vying to become Iowa's next Secretary of State, Democrat Brad Anderson and Republican Paul Pate have ideas for improving those functions.

Pate would streamline an array of forms available on the office's website, work with business owners to review and improve the filing process and reestablish an effort from his previous time as secretary in the 1990s where he traveled the state to hold coffee meetings with business owners and local leaders.

'We want to give you a chance to come in and talk to us about anything dealing with business and government that either is working for you or is a problem we can improve on,” Pate said.

Anderson contends that Iowa's current system for filing articles of incorporation takes too long, forcing Iowans to wait days to receive important documents.

'You compare that to Missouri or Minnesota, where they provide you an online template, you fill that out, you pay online, and then you have your articles of incorporation sent to you immediately. That matters, because to open a bank account, you need your articles of incorporation. So in Iowa, you're at an immediate multiday disadvantage,” Anderson said.

Both candidates want to help veterans starting businesses. Pate would work with Home Base Iowa to find veterans interesting in opening businesses. Anderson would create a database of veteran-owned firms in Iowa.

' Comments: editorial@thegazette.com; (319) 398-8292.

Guest columns written by the Republican and Democratic candidates are also available:

' Paul Pate (R)

' Brad Anderson (D)