Voting ID changes: bring your Iowa driver’s license

As Election Day approaches, election officials in southeast Iowa not only want to remind voters to bring their Iowa State driver's license to the polls but that school board election polling places have changed. Voters will now vote for school board elections at their general election voting locations, even if their school district is not within their home county.

Following the passage of Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate's voter ID law, a measure implemented in an attempt to discourage and lessen voting fraud, Iowa voters can no longer use the last four digits of their social security number as identification when filling out a ballot.

In an email from Paul Pate's communication director, Kevin Hall, Pate was quoted as saying, 'Iowans have made it clear they overwhelmingly support Voter ID and courts have ruled that Voter ID at the polls and on absentee ballot requests is acceptable. Every eligible Iowan who needs a Voter ID card receives one for free. We allowed a soft rollout of the law in 2018 to give voters a full year to get used to the requirement and record high turnout that year for a midterm election. I believe Voter ID gives Iowans more confidence in the integrity of our elections.”

While a driver's license may be the easiest and accessible form of identification to provide, Iowa voters can also bring an Iowa Voter ID, an Iowa Non-Operator ID, a U.S. Military ID or Veteran ID, a U.S. Passport or a Tribal ID card.

For those who have just moved from out of state who have not yet updated their driver's license or do not have one, a voter ID with a four-digit pin will be issued upon registration. Voters should bring their out-of-state driver's license along with that voter ID to the polls to vote. Proof of residence is also required for those with a driver's license issued from a different state.

Proof of residence, which can be shown in a paper or electronic form, can be a residential lease, utility bill with a cellphone bill, a bank statement, paycheck or a government check. They must include the voter's name and current address and must be dated within the last 45 days from Nov. 5.

Shelly Barber, Henry County's auditor, noted that the soft rollout of the law has given Henry County voters ample time to prepare for the changes this upcoming election.

'It hasn't affected the county. Everybody's been getting used to it. We've been asking for the last year and a half and people are getting used to it. They were kind of providing it even when it wasn't needed,” Barber said.

The auditor added that, from her perspective, she doesn't feel there is 'a lot of cheating in [the] area because so many poll workers know the people who are voting,” and notes that more of the voting fraud probably occurs with people from outside of Iowa.

'It's mostly with people coming from other states that aren't already in the voting system, otherwise we don't have much of an issue here,” Barber added.

Barber explains that voters in Henry County should go to the precincts and polling locations they usually go to for their primary and general election voting this upcoming Election Day and that voting runs from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters must vote in-person both on Election Day and through absentee ballots in Henry County.

Perhaps the more drastic change to the upcoming election that will have the largest effect on southeast Iowa voters is the combination of city and school board elections and the new voting locations for school board. At the Iowa legislative session in 2017, school board elections were moved from their usual September date to November in an attempt to improve voter turnout.

In addition to the combination of the elections, Iowa voters will now vote for their school board elections in the county that they vote for their primary and general elections. This will only affect voters whose children open enroll and attend schools in districts outside of their voting district and place of residence.

Washington County elections administrator, Sue Meeks, says the change means poll workers are dealing with 34 different ballot styles because of the new rules.

'Everyone within the county border has to vote in our county whereas before, WACO parents used to go to Henry County to vote, even if they lived in Washington,” Meeks noted.

Because of the change, Meeks is asking for people not only to register to vote ahead of time, but also to be patient with poll workers who are still adapting to the new ballots and system.

'Some precincts have as many as 6 ballot styles … People can do Election Day registration, but it's not advised. It holds up the line, so if at all possible, we ask voters to come [to the auditor's office] and do that ahead of time,” Meeks added.

In Washington County, voters can absentee vote in-person through 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 4. Absentee voting began on Oct. 7, 29 days out from the election. Like Henry County voters, Washington County voters can go to their usual general election polling locations. Separate school board ballots will be provided for those voting in school board elections in districts outside of Washington County.

Abbie DeKleine, the second deputy auditor in Jefferson County, notes that the combination of the two elections has not seemed to have any large effect on voter turnout.

'So far we've had absentee going on and it hasn't seemed to be any more than normal,” DeKleine said but echoed Meek's sentiments that the new voting rules and additional ballots has been a bit of a transition for the county.

'We're dealing with more ballots … we're not the control county for Cardinal School district, so we send those ballots to them afterward. Now, we keep those voters here and the district sends us information to put on the ballot … In the future we're seeing that it will be easier for our office, but it's definitely a new way of getting all those ballots correct,” DeKleine added.

According to the second deputy auditor, Jefferson County voters should go to their presidential polling locations to cast their ballots next week.

For polling locations in Jefferson County, visit http://www.jeffersoncountyiowa.com/elections.htm. Polling information in Washington County, visit https://co.washington.ia.us/344/Elections. Election information for Henry County can be accessed at https://www.henrycountyiowa.us/electionmain.htm.