As telegraphed by key GOP lawmakers last month, a key component of Pate’s upgrades is Voter ID. This piece requires voters to produce approved forms of identification before casting ballots. Pate suggests Iowa-issued driver’s licenses, military-issued identification cards and passports.
As I wrote in a column three weeks ago, this is a solution in search of a problem.
The voter fraud witch hunt conducted by Pate’s Republican predecessor scrutinized 1.6 million Iowa votes and asked for further investigation of 117, or .0073 percent. Of those, only six led to criminal convictions.
Iowans learned that the tiny fraction of a percent of prosecuted voter fraud — .000375 percent of all ballots — was overwhelmingly perpetrated by former felons confused by state executive orders regarding when and how their voting rights were restored. More important, not one of those votes altered the outcome of an election.
Like Pate proclaimed in October 2016: “This state has a pretty darn good track record and I really resent anybody trying to blemish it.” Ditto.