Iowa’s Secretary of State says skepticism about in the way elections are conducted is prompting many Americans to skip voting. Matt Schultz testified this morning before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
“It seems clear that a lack of confidence in the integrity of our elections is one of the reasons people do not vote,” Schultz said. “Some believe their votes do not matter and that belief is a true cause of voter suppression across this country.”
Schultz told senators of his own effort to combat election misconduct, by developing a list of Iowa residents who may not be legally eligible to vote because they’re a felon or because they’re not a U.S. citizen.Critics say there’s very little voter fraud in Iowa and they suggest Schultz’s effort is threatening to some legal voters, particularly new citizens who don’t speak English well. Schultz rejects those arguments.
“The truth is that when election officials take steps to secure the integrity and safety of the ballot box, confidence in the outcome rises and voter participation increases,” Schultz testified.
A state Division of Criminal Investigation agent is culling through the list of nearly 3600 people Schultz suspects may have voted illegally in past elections.
“We all know that criminal investigations take time,” Schultz told senators this morning, “and we expect many more charges of election misconduct to be filed in the coming months.”
So far, eight people have been charged with voter fraud.