Anderson aims to make it easier to vote, harder to cheat

As chief elections official in Iowa, the Secretary of State's top priority must be ensuring our elections are clean, fair and accessible. Iowa has a proud reputation for civic participation, and our local election officials have worked hard for decades to protect the integrity of the election process.

The goal of our next Secretary of State should be to find nonpartisan solutions that make it easier to vote and harder to cheat.

I've worked in elections across the state for more than 12 years, and I know firsthand our county auditors and bipartisan poll workers have worked diligently to balance accessibility with election integrity. They have gone out of their way to ensure all eligible voters have their votes counted and nobody is intimidated at the polls. In addition, they have zero tolerance for election misconduct and have an incredible track record for preventing voter fraud.

Over the past year I have had the privilege of talking with Republican, Democratic and Independent county auditors and they agree there are additional steps we can take to increase access to the polls and prevent election misconduct before it occurs, rather than waste taxpayer dollars on costly investigations after the fact.

As a candidate for Secretary of State, I've proposed some common sense steps we can take. For example, we should join 19 other states and allow Iowans to register to vote online. Our county auditors agree that online voter registration is safe, would make it easier for Iowans to register, and would take less time and money to process.

I've also proposed allowing Iowans to request a ballot automatically be sent in the mail for every election, as opposed to the current process, which requires voters to request a ballot for each individual election. This would not only increase voter turnout in general elections, but also in local school board races, municipal elections and special elections.

While increasing turnout and access to the polls is vital, we must simultaneously focus on strengthening the security and integrity of the election process. The most important step we can take to prevent any misconduct at the polls is investing in new technology and expanding the use of electronic poll books to all 99 counties.

The most popular electronic poll book in Iowa is Precinct Atlas, which was invented by Republican Cerro Gordo County Auditor Ken Kline. This poll book, which has won national awards, is used by more than half of our county auditors and is widely praised by poll workers for its effectiveness and simplicity. The poll book allows Iowa voters to check-in electronically, and then immediately verifies the voter is eligible to vote and at the correct location.

Rather than spending years and taxpayer dollars on expensive criminal investigations, let's save time and money by investing in technology that prevents election misconduct, intentional or not, before it takes place.

' Brad Anderson is the Democratic candidate for Iowa Secretary of State.