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ELECTIONS

Iowa officials launch online voter registration system

Critics note it requires an ID from the state Transportation Dept.

The Associated Press

DES MOINES — Iowa’s new online voter registration system is already clocking in hundreds of visitors, despite criticism it doesn’t reach every potential voter, state officials announced Monday.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate reiterated at a news conference that the system, launched on New Year’s Day, is intended to compliment the many options already available to residents who want to vote. That includes voter registration at the polls on Election Day and registering by mail.

“There will be no one who will be left behind,” he said, referencing criticism by some advocacy groups that the new system excludes roughly 145,000 eligible voters because it requires a state driver’s license or identification issued by the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Pate called Iowa a leader in voter accessibility and said there are now half a dozen options available in the state to register to vote. He said his office would take calls from anyone needing registration help, “no matter what their hurdle might be as long as they’re eligible to vote in Iowa.”

More than 200 people have accessed the website portal since it launched, according to Pate, though he was unable to provide more details about whether those people registered to vote or updated their voter information. He said he expects to provide that information in the future.

Iowa is one of only a handful of states with an online voter registration system that doesn’t require voters to mail in a paper form to complete the process, according to Pate’s office.

Pate said he still wants to address the online registration gap, which is estimated to account for about 7 percent of Iowa’s eligible voters. He said it will require more money to expand the technology behind the new online system, which was funded through previously allocated costs for DOT. It was created by in-house developers at the department.

Pate said it’s unclear when his office might secure more funding, and it may require legislative action in the future.

Pate

By Barbara Rodriguez

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