Iowa House panel debates elections ‘modernization and integrity’ bill that includes voter ID

DES MOINES - Iowa is already one of the top states in the nation when it comes to election integrity and panels in the Republican-controlled House and Senate have approved an 'Election Modernization and Integrity Act” its chief sponsor said will make it even better.

And now a Senate State Government subcommittee has joined the House in moving the legislation forward. Wednesday, a subcommittee of Republican Sens. Roby Smith of Davenport and Jake Chapman of Adel, and Democratic Sen. Tony Bisignano of Des Moines, signed off on SSB 1165 that mirrors a House proposal that won committee approval late Tuesday.

House Study Bill 93, according to Chairman Ken Rizer, R-Cedar Rapids, will 'make it easier to vote, harder to cheat and nobody will be turned away.”

In the end, the committee voted 14-9 along party lines to approve the bill, making it eligible for consideration by the full House.

By requiring the use of 21st Century technology such as e-pollbooks, currently used by 72 of the state's 99 counties, HSB 93 'will make Iowa elections more efficient, more voter friendly and more secure,” he said.

Voting will be 'as easy as going through the express line at Hy-Vee,” Rizer said.

Not quite, argued Rep. Vicki Lensing, D-Iowa City, who said HSB 93 'makes huge changes” that would make voting cumbersome and disenfranchise the elderly, disabled and minorities.

'I cannot in good conscience support the amendment,” she said, referring to changes Rizer offered Tuesday. His amendment would require the Secretary of State to create a public education program, a training program for pollworkers and eliminates straight party voting. It also dropped a change in poll hours and changes in the absentee voting window and the early voting windows from an amendment considered earlier.

His amendment was approved 14-9 at about 10 p.m. Democrats then met privately to draft amendments to the bill.

A major point of contention was the voter ID requirement. Voters would need to show a photo ID - a driver license, non-operator ID, passport, or military or veteran ID. If a voter doesn't have one of those, they could use their voter ID card that would include their signature, a unique identification number and a bar code that could be scanned to ensure that a voter does not cast ballots in more than one place. Voters without a photo ID would need either someone to attest to their eligibility to vote, use the election-day registration process that expands the number of IDs they can use, such as student or business IDs, and present something to prove their residence, or they can vote a provisional ballot.

'We have a system in place that works,” said Lensing, who noted county auditors don't support the bill. Iowa already ranks second in the nation in voter integrity, seventh in registration and seventh in turnout, she said.

Iowans should be proud of that and work to 'make voting easy and accessible, not throw up more hurdles, which is what I see in this amendment,” she said.

'Voting a right, not a privilege, and one that we should cherish,” she said. 'Also one that should be simple so that we all can exercise that right.”

'If we want Iowa to continue to be a place where we have voting that is respected by other states and respected by our own voters, a system of integrity, this is not the way to go,” Lensing said. 'This is not achieving integrity in voting.”

He is now pushing a bill that would require ID to vote and would make voter ID cards without photos available to people who don't have photo ID. The bar codes on the IDs would allow the state to ensure that ballots are not cast in two places.

The bill would mean little or no change for about 95 percent of Iowa voters, Rizer said. It would not place an undue burden on others and would enhance election integrity.

Democrats offered amendments to create an ongoing absentee ballot application, replace the I-voter system, put e-pollbooks in every precinct, retain current practices, remove the requirement that voters without their voter ID with them must vote a provisional ballot, study the minority impact and to require a public education program of the changes in the bill.

All but the public education measure were rejected 9-14 on party line votes. Many times, the minority party runs the same amendments during floor debate.

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