DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced recently that his office begins mailing Voter ID cards to registered voters in the state who do not possess a valid Iowa driver’s license or non-driver’s ID.
The cards are free and will be sent automatically to 123,000 Iowans beginning this month, roughly six percent of the state’s registered voters. This process will ensure that every registered voter in the state will have an identification card to use when voting, starting with the 2018 elections.
“It should be easy to vote, but hard to cheat, and that’s what this new law ensures,” Secretary Pate said. “We are taking the unprecedented step of mailing free Voter ID cards automatically to every registered voter who does not already have an Iowa driver’s license or non-driver’s ID. Only those Iowans will receive these cards. I encourage them to be on the lookout for the Voter ID cards in the mail, and when they receive their card, open it, sign it and keep it.”
Earlier this year, the Iowa Legislature passed a bill that requires voters to present photo identification documents when they go to vote. Iowa Democrats fervently opposed the bill, however, saying it solves a problem that allegedly does not exist and there is little or no proof that Iowa suffers from voter fraud. The Iowa ACLU chimed in after the bill passed, saying “It is a sad day for Iowa. The Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate’s voter suppression bill has passed.”
