Trusting Elections
There’s been a lot of talk over the past 25 years about elections and accuracy. It’s always been there, but really came to the surface in the 2000 presidential election, particularly with regard to Florida. And of course, the 2020 election led to a variety of claims about election fraud.
All that talk might make some a bit nervous…perhaps to the point of not voting. That’s something those in Iowa responsible for elections want to stop in its tracks.
The Iowa Secretary of State is in charge at the state level; county auditors are at the county level. Together, the state office and an Auditor Advisory Group issued a news release yesterday to assure Iowans that elections here are secure…and to urge folks to turn to trusted sources for election information to keep it that way.
Of note are the various steps they listed that help insure election integrity:
- Iowans vote on paper ballots.
- Public testing of voting equipment occurs before each election.
- Post-election audits are conducted in all 99 counties.
- There is collaboration around cybersecurity protections with agencies like the Iowa Office of the Chief Information Officer and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
- Voter ID instituted at the polls and on absentee ballot requests.
They also note that some 10,000 Iowans serve as poll workers each election, your friends and neighbors who are trusted folks in your community.
Iowa ranks third in the nation for election administration…so while continued vigilance is necessary, all parties seem to agree that we run things fairly here in Iowa.
