A contentious voter identification plan that is supported by Republicans and opposed by Democrats was introduced Wednesday in the Iowa House. House Study Bill 93, labeled the “Election Integrity Act,” has been proposed by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican. Pate said his plan will modernize Iowa’s elections technology by establishing electronic poll books in every Iowa precinct. In addition, the bill calls for establishing a voter ID system with signature verification, absentee ballot verification and post-election audits. … The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa has vowed to fight Pate’s bill, calling it a solution in search of a problem.
Rita Bettis, ACLU-Iowa’s legal director, said the proposal would make voting more difficult and more confusing for voters. It would also be more expensive for taxpayers with no justification because Iowa has some of the best elections in the country with some of the highest rates of voter participation and zero indication of any voter impersonation fraud, she said.
“Under Secretary Pate’s proposal, voters would be confused, lines would be longer, and some voters simply would not have their ballots counted because they lack a narrow class of three acceptable photo IDs,” Bettis said.
Full Article: Contentious voter ID bill introduced in Iowa House.