Voter probe’s ROI is low

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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One of the Iowa secretary of state's primary duties is being the state commissioner of elections, supervising the 99 county auditors in the administration of election laws and administrative rules.

This is an elected office and each officeholder has put some personal stamp on their time of service. Matt Schultz has made rooting out voter fraud a top priority.

He's gone to great lengths, in particular by hiring an Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent to conduct a lengthy investigation. To pay for it, Schultz is using federal Help American Vote Act dollars. The probe has concluded, with $150,000 paid to the DCI so far and the final bill expected to be much higher.

HAVA, approved in 2002, is supposed to help states improve voting systems and voter access. Whether Schultz's investigation was a proper use of HAVA funding is being reviewed by a federal panel.

We don't think using HAVA money was appropriate. He should have found state funds. Most important, we don't think the results of the investigation were worth the time and money.

Since it was launched 20 months ago, the DCI's efforts have led to five voters pleading guilty, although there was no evidence for most of them that they intentionally violated the law. Fifteen other cases are pending. Several dozen others are being considered by county attorneys for possible prosecution.

That's it.

And while there may be more convictions, the numbers won't prove there's any widespread or even very significant voter fraud problem in Iowa. They also don't support one of Schultz's other major quests: a voter ID law.

Iowa's voting system is one of the nation's cleanest, though certainly not perfect. No one who cares about ensuring the integrity of voting wants to see it abused.

Schultz's intent may be admirable but the investigation's return on investment has been puny. Let's move on. Look for other ways he and county auditors can improve the voting process.

Comments: editorial@thegazette.com