Iowa panel puts election in the books

A panel most Iowans have never heard of meets in Des Moines today to put the final seal of approval on last month’s general election. The State Board of Canvass gathers at 11 a-m to make the results official and designate which presidential candidate will get Iowa’s seven electoral votes. Secretary of State Chet Culver is one member of the board. He says the five members sign the document that makes the results official.The other members are: Governor Tom Vilsack, Secretary of State Patty Judge, Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald and Auditor Richard Johnson, who is the only republican on the panel.Despite the mess in Florida, the final outcome of the presidential race in Iowa is no surprise. Democrat Al Gore will be certified the winner today over republican George W-Bush in Iowa by 41-hundred-44 votes out of more than one-point-three million votes cast. Culver says all Iowans should be proud of the efforts by Iowa’s election officials.The November 7th election marked the state’s second-largest voter turnout.