Mauro for Iowa Secretary of State

N THE NEWS...

Courtesy: Sioux City Journal - May 24, 2006

Candidates want to cut back on absentee ballots

By Charlotte Eby Journal Des Moines Bureau - Sioux City Journal

DES MOINES -- The two Republicans running to be Iowa's next secretary of state are pushing for changes to voting they say will make the process more secure.

The candidates, Des Moines podiatrist Chuck Allison and Urbandale lawyer Robert Dopf, both said they believe voters' extensive use of absentee ballots has gone too far and could lead to fraud.

The winner of the Republican primary on June 6 will take on Democrat Michael Mauro, the Polk County auditor who is running unopposed in his party's primary.

Current Secretary of State Chet Culver, a Democrat, is not seeking a third term so he can run for governor.

Dopf argues that making absentee ballots available to voters without a valid reason has reduced security.

"The one thing I've learned is if you open the door even a crack, sooner or later the cheaters do come rushing through that crack," he said.

The last six years, Dopf has been designated as the federal elections officer for Iowa by the U.S. Department of Justice. He's been charged with monitoring the elections process for fraud.

Dopf said he believes absentee ballots should be available for legitimate reasons, such as a voter being away on the day of the election. But he said he's not in favor of their widespread use by so many voters as early as 40 days before an election.

Absentee ballot drives by both political parties have been spiraling upward each election cycle.

"It's kind of akin to the nuclear arms race. Neither party wants to be left behind. Neither party's willing to pull back on it," Dopf said.

He's concerned other safeguards need to be put in place for electronic voting machines, including a "paper trail" of records that can be consulted.

"Without something to conduct an audit of the numbers, you do not have the ability to verify the accuracy of the vote count coming out of those machines," Dopf said.

Allison has concerns with other current voting practices.

If he is elected, Allison said he will work with the next governor to try to rescind an order by Gov. Tom Vilsack that amounted to a blanket restoration of voting rights for convicted felons.

"That'll be my first act," Allison said.

Before Vilsack's executive order, those felons had to apply to the governor to have their rights restored. Allison said that system worked well and those requests already were approved at a high rate.

Allison also shares concerns of many Republicans about the skyrocketing use of absentee ballots.

He said close to 30 percent of ballots cast in the last general election, or more than 450,000 votes, were cast by absentee ballot.

Allowing a third party to return those ballots for a voter also reduces security, said Allison, who wants to eliminate the practice.

"It makes the system susceptible, highly susceptible, to fraud and abuse, where these couriers can take these ballots and do whatever they want with them," Allison said.

Allison also is pushing for a requirement that voters show identification at the polls.

"If they fly on a plane, they have to show an ID card. If voting is our most precious right, then we need to protect it," Allison said.

Allison said his experience as an Army officer and a small businessman has taught him to identify problems and fix them, a trait he said would serve him well as secretary of state.

Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.

Copyright: Sioux City Journal 2006