Iowa’s Governor this week diverted over $400,000 from state technology purchases to instead use the money as “matching funds” to qualify Iowa for $8.4 million in federal money that’ll be used to buy hundreds of new voting machines. Secretary of State Chet Culver — a Democrat who’s Iowa’s Commissioner of Elections — says while Iowa met an August 1st deadline, the state must put up more money this fall. Culver says Iowa must put up as much as a half million dollars more in October or November to qualify for another $10 million from the feds. Culver says he’ll work closely with the Governor and top legislators to come up with that next round of money. Republican legislators balked at providing the funds in their regular session and the special session in June because Democrat Governor Tom Vilsack refused to go along with the voting reforms the G-O-P sought. Culver threw a fit in late July when the state’s Executive Council — the state’s statewide elected officials — refused to appropriate the state money on its own. Unless there’s another special legislative session, Culver will have to convince Governor Vilsack to shift state spending priorities, or convince the Legislative Council, a group of legislative leaders, to come up with that half million. Culver says there’s plenty of work left to be done, but there are a few months to make sure Iowa’s prepared for the next hurdle.
