Secretary of State says Republicans will be to blame for election troubles

Secretary of State Chet Culver says if there are any close contests in the June 4th primary that require a recount, republicans will have to tell the public why they didn’t clean up the state’s election laws.Republican lawmakers this past spring failed to enact a series of election reforms Culver proposed even though they were endorsed by Iowa’s Democrat and Republican parties. He says there’s no one definition as to what constitutes a vote in Iowa. The reforms were drafted in response to vote counting problems which were highlighted in the Florida during the Bush/Gore re-count.Republican legislators are also canceling plans to buy a new computer system to replace the 1970s main frame that stores voter registration information today. Culver says the antiquated system, and worker layoffs in his office, make it difficult to cull felons and dead folks off the voter lists.