DES MOINES – Iowa’s top election official has spent a hefty sum to chase down potential voter fraud cases, but few prosecutions have come of it, according to a study by the state’s top newspaper.
According to the Des Moines Register, Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz has spent in the neighborhood of $150,000 since 2011 to track down voter fraud in the state, but only 16 prosecutions have been undertaken. The Register reported that no cases have gone to trial, while five cases have been dismissed and a total of five ended in guilty pleas.
Schultz says on Iowa’s website that he “will do everything I can to ensure the integrity, security and fairness of Iowa’s election process. Elections are the foundation of our great state and nation, and the votes of our citizens merit protection.”
According to the Iowa Republican Party, $280,000 “is being spent is for a contract with an investigator from the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation,” to root out voter fraud. “Prior to that nobody was tasked with investigating voter fraud. So before if we reported it basically nothing was really done. In terms of voter ID, that was what Matt Schultz ran on in 2010. He’s trying to keep his campaign promise. It’s also something that 71% of Iowans want, including 60% of Iowa Democrats.”
Wow $2 a day (per county) was spent on investigating voter fraud. What a waste of money, compared to anything else… like buying a pop from a vending machine.
Terrible.
Proof that voter fraud is a hoax perpetrated by Nutcases. 10 voters aren’t gonna change squat, but in Iowas Racist minds them cotton picken varmit Mexicans are all voting for liberals.
Proof it’s a crock of Shite.
Ignorance runs amuck among us.
@maybe-it is the pot head druggers spouting off again. They are to braindead to even know what they are talking about.
When they get everything they want from obama and finally think life is so great and then find themselves in front of government firing squad they will finally say maybe I was wrong.
Obama turned all Bush on medical marijuana. Cannabis users hate him. More unadulterated doggy doo doo.
No idea what you just said, you probably took 1 too many tokes.
Did it ever occur to you that someone would be willing to pursue voter fraud would help keep it at a minimum? This coupled with requiring voter ID’s is very likely working to keep it at a minimum.
I’d like to see a comparison with states where no voter ID is required and no one is actively pursuing voter fraud – I would bet the number of dead people voting there is way up.
Further, it is not “racist” to require those that vote prove they are who they say they are.
As a final irony, this state wide effort cost $150,000. That’s a little less than the annual dollars saved by Mason City reducing funds to our duplicative Human Rights Commission. I know it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison but I found it interesting.
More right wing propaganda with delusional logic. The people cheating would most likely be the LVSs of the world. People with strong political views willing to cheat. The story proves voter fraud is a fraud itself.
Nothing delusional about it Nummy. Saying “the story proves voter fraud is a fraud” is ridiculous.
Go vote in a Cook County Illinois election if you want to see real fraud – I did during the first Daley administration and would bet it is ongoing. Now we are hearing Chicago has big time pension woes – can you say Detroit? The common theme – Democratic/union/thug governed and now a wreck.
Voter fraud, what little exist is bipartisan.
nummy if you think there was very little voter fraud you need to pull your head out of the sand because there was ALOT of voter fraud the last election. Wake up and smell the BS.
The whole election process in this country is a fraud. Get your head out of your arse man.
So Nummy, is that your preferred position while deep in thought?
Now, All that being said, it was a terrible waste of our tax money. These damn politicians, Republicans and even more Democrats don’t care how much they spend or what they spend it on as it is not their money.
Just look at this guy. He looks like the poster child for Republicanism. Just missing the arm band and the hat.
Why would you say that? Just because he has teeth, a haircut and is clean shaven and you are not used to that?
Actually it’s’ called a “diastema”, and on some women they can be incredibly sexy. I dated a lawyer with just the right amount of space between her front teeth. What a knockout.
So you think that guy is sexy?
No, I think the guy is a Branstad appointed Nazi.
see now that I understand, only ignorant liberals have been using the word nazi lately, now everything makes sense.
The Secretary of State is elected not appointed
Nichole you need to do some more research on the secretary of state, the president selects them and gives their name to congress and they vote yes or no.
@maybe, I believe that Nichole is referring to the Iowa Secretary of State, which is an elected position.
Don’t kid yourself…if he is in Des Moines and Branstad is the Governor, he was appointed. He may be elected, but he only became elected because Branstad allowed him to be. Yeah, “democracy”, is nothing but insider teams of “yes” or “no” men.
Read this article and it will explain why nothing is being done about voter fraud.
http://dcclothesline.com/2013/06/30/why-the-gop-wont-challenge-vote-fraud/
Interesting. Judge Greenway denied the motion. No surprise there as he is Osama Obama’s appointee. Damn crooks.
Research doesn’t support the allegations in this article.
What research did you do?
Schultz has been saying for months now that he was going to dig up examples of voter fraud in Iowa, but hasn’t provided any yet.
This whole thing is a sham. It’s absolutely pathetic that a Tea Party guy would waste state resources on something that doesn’t exist.
Matt Schultz is using his office strictly for party purposes.
This is hardly anything new. He has done this from day one. His political career is tied totally to the fortunes of the tea party.
He is their servant, not the servant of Iowans.
You say it is a shame that he is wasting money on something that doesn’t exist. How can you be so sure it doesn’t exist and talk about wasting money have you seen our government lately?
I will agree with you on government waste. It is obscene to say the least. And that is a whole topic in and of itself
As to this particular issue, I will be the first to admit it if I am wrong , but so far from what I have seen and heard the amount of voter fraud in Iowa is negligible.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/16/iowa-voter-fraud_n_4455110.html?utm_hp_ref=politics
Matt Schultz is a Tea party extremest and I cannot stand extremists of any ilk, conservative or liberal.
They are the true detriment to this country.
The linked article goes on to say why voting districts with “a substantial proportion of racial or ethnic populations” are open to carte blanche Democratic voter fraud.
Maybe this is one of the reasons the appearance of Black Panther types at polls in Philadelphia were never prosecuted?
LVS you forgot 1 thing, he is NOT gay.
Very true.
Gay threw the monkey wrench in the otherwise idyllic 1950’s Pleasantville existence. Ward Cleaver (Hugh Beaumont) and Eddy Haskel’s dad living together didn’t fare well in test pilot episodes….so they kept it straight with him and June.
Sure Peter, sure.