Postcards from the Auditor

Postcards have the Linn-Mar School District on edge.

Blame Linn County Auditor Joel Miller. His office sent postcards to registered voters in the district informing them of an April 1 special election renewing a Physical Plant and Equipment Levy, or PPEL. The measure passed, raising roughly $3 million annually for district facilities, transportation and other needs.

Then Miller sent the district a bill for the election - $11,756.52 total, including $4,892.91 for the postcards. Superintendent Katie Mullholland has refused to pay for the postcards, contending Linn-Mar had its own voter outreach and Miller didn't consult the district on his effort.

So, in part, what we've got here is a failure to communicate.

Miller's mailings appear to fall within his statutory authority as commissioner of elections, but a heads-up to Linn-Mar would have been a wise courtesy. After all, the district has to pay much of the election freight.

It's true Linn-Mar had its own public education effort, everything from informational meetings, media releases and Facebook reminders to notes tucked in student backpacks and stickers worn home by second-graders. But, being a school district, much of it was parent-focused. I appreciate that, as a Linn-Mar parent, but Miller's postcards went to every voter. Turnout increased, compared to the 2013 school board election, but was it the postcards or the district efforts? Only the 4.5 percent of Linn-Mar voters who showed up know for sure. I was among them, reminded both by my trusty newspaper and Miller's mailing.

I think the postcards are a solid idea, even if the execution left something to be desired. Yes, the mailings did significantly boost the cost of the vote, but I think informing voters of an election that affects their community, kids and pocketbooks is well worth the extra spending. And with turnout so chronically abysmal in so many local elections, I can't bring myself to criticize the auditor for trying.

And I'm not alone.

'I'd rather have an auditor who is willing to go out there and try than one that covers their head and waits for the next storm,” said Paul Pate, a Republican who is running to be Iowa's Secretary of State, Iowa's commissioner of elections.

'I do commend him for at least reaching out and trying to get more people to vote,” said Brad Anderson, the Democrat running for Secretary of State. 'I think it's important for our democracy.”

So Miller's focus is the right one. And I think Linn-Mar leaders should grit their teeth and pay the bill. In June, the Linn-Mar School Board told a group of parents concerned about a principal shuffle at three elementary schools, and a lack of information on those moves, that we just needed to embrace change. In this case, the district should take its own advice.

Same goes for Cedar Rapids, where district voters also received postcards and turnout for its PPEL vote jumped significantly from 2013. The levy there passed by just 31 votes, so it seems voting still matters.

Maybe, when the dust settles, the auditor and districts can talk about future elections and how they can cooperate. He can send them a postcard.

l Comments: (319) 398-8452; todd.dorman@thegazette.com