\u201cWhat\u2019s\nyour address?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\ncan\u2019t ask me that,\u201d I said. \u201cThat\u2019s a\ntest, or at the least, it\u2019s a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nelection official was taken aback and became defensive. We engaged in a small discussion. I could see that I rattled her cage and she\nwas going to show me who was boss. She\nhad my identification; what more did she need? \nHolding my driver\u2019s license, she asked me to verify my name. I hesitated, but in the end, I acquiesced. I voted and left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later,\nI sent an email to Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald and told him I felt\nuncomfortable about the process of giving everyone a little test to see if they\nknew their name and address. He got right\nback to me by phone, immediately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nAuditor told me that I was correct. The\nmishap occurred within the manual that was supplied by the Iowa Secretary of\nState, Paul Pate. He also assured me\nthat it would be corrected by the next election, the Iowa Primary in June,\n2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\nbrought this up at a neighborhood holiday social this month and received a\ndefensive remark by a person who worked the polls on the special mayoral\nelection. He justified his position by\nusing the example of college students who move frequently and don\u2019t have a\ncurrent address on their driver\u2019s license. \nSo, I asked him: \u201cDid you question everyone\u2019s knowledge of where they\nlived?\u201d \u201cNo,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, what made you ask some but not\nall?\u201d I don\u2019t think I received an\nanswer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Immediately,\nI was jokingly criticized for harassing volunteers. First of all, these poll workers are not\nvolunteers; they are paid for their work at the polls. Second, poll workers represent the\ngovernment, and the only way to get the attention of an elected official (the\nSecretary of State) on a constitutional matter is to begin at the bottom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\nasked my neighbor if he was instructed to test some people because the manual suggested\nit. \u201cYes,\u201d he replied. I knew because Auditor Fitzgerald told me so the\nnight of the election when he called me. \nEvidently, the manual is provided by the Secretary of State, and the\nCounty Auditor did not have time to correct the misstep in the manual before\nall poll workers were trained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iowa\nCode section 49.78 begins with a statement that says: \u201cTo ensure the integrity\nof, and to instill public confidence in, all elections in this state the\ngeneral assembly finds that the verification of a voter\u2019s identity is necessary\nbefore a voter is permitted to receive and cast a ballot.\u201d The subsequent subsection spells out how that\nverification process is to occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0a.\u00a0\u00a0Before a precinct election official furnishes a ballot to a voter under section 49.77, the voter shall establish the voter\u2019s identity by presenting the official with one of the following forms of identification for verification: <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0(1)\u00a0\u00a0An Iowa driver\u2019s license issued pursuant to section 321.189.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0(2)\u00a0\u00a0An Iowa nonoperator\u2019s identification card issued pursuant to section 321.190.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0(3)\u00a0\u00a0A United States passport.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0(4)\u00a0\u00a0A United States military or veterans identification card.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0(5)\u00a0\u00a0A current, valid tribal identification card or other tribal enrollment document issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe or nation, which includes a photograph, signature, and valid expiration date.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0b.\u00a0\u00a0Upon being presented with a form of identification under this section, the precinct election official shall examine the identification. The precinct election official shall use the information on the identification card, including the signature, to determine whether the person offering to vote appears to be the person depicted on the identification card. The voter\u2019s signature shall generally be presumed to be valid. If the identification provided does not appear to be the person offering to vote under section 49.77, the precinct election official shall challenge the person offering to vote in the same manner provided for other challenges by sections 49.79 and 49.80. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n According\nto the law (above), the only method of identifying oneself is \u201cby presenting\nthe official with one of the following forms of identification for verification,\u201d\nand the precinct election official may question the voter only \u201cif the\nidentification provided does not appear to be the person offering to\nvote.\u201d The rules established by the\nSecretary of State go one step further. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 21.3(6) Determination of identity and residency.\u00a0 Proof of identity and residence of persons offering to vote is presumed valid unless<\/strong> the precinct election official determines the proof offered does not match the voter. In determining whether a person offering to vote is eligible under Iowa Code section 48A.7A and Iowa Code chapter49, precinct election officials shall consider all of the information presented by the person offering to vote prior to determining that the person is not eligible. The following are factors that shall be considered<\/strong> by precinct election officials in making the determination: <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n a. Changes to the voter\u2019s physical appearance or signature, <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n b. Time elapsed since the proof was generated, subject to the Iowa Code sections that govern the validity and expiration time lines of the proof, <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n c. Other documentation allowable under Iowa Code chapter 48A to prove the facts in question.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Back\nto the beginning. Why was I asked to\nverbally verify my address? Did some\nphysical appearance of me standing before her not match the photo or\ninformation provided on my driver\u2019s license? \nMaybe I gained 10 pounds. Is it\nthe haircut? It can\u2019t be the signature\nsince I have yet to sign anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If\nit\u2019s none of the above, it must be a challenge. \nWhat else could it be? And why\nwould I be challenged? A challenged\nvoter must fill out a provisional ballot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nCounty Auditor told me that some people purposefully submit a provisional\nballot when they vote. It does nothing\nmore than to make more work for the auditor and staff. I didn\u2019t want to do that. However, the process I experienced was\nidentical to what occurs if you are challenged as a voter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My\nexperience was degrading and unnecessary. \nIt was designed to intimidate, humiliate, and discourage those who may\nbe voting for the first time, or like me, for the umpteenth time. My vote \u201cis presumed valid\u201d. The burden is not on me, but on the\ngovernment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Voting\nis a fundamental right. It requires the\nstrictest scrutiny by a court of equity. \nQuestioning the validity of some, but not all, becomes a constitutional\nissue. It\u2019s profiling. It\u2019s uncalled for and it is not the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nmay have been criticized by my neighbors, but we can\u2019t let one constitutional\nright become watered-down because there might be a good reason behind it. The best reason behind questioning some\ngovernment practices is the U.S. Constitution and the Constitution of\nIowa. \u201cOur liberties we prize, and our\nrights we will maintain.\u201d I\u2019m doing my\nbest to make sure a bad instruction in a manual becomes the focus of\nconversation in order to correct the possible constitutional violation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chicago\u2019s\nlate Mayor Daley and his \u201cDemocratic Machine\u201d are no longer something that can\nhappen today. Voter fraud is rare, and\nis usually mistaken for voter misunderstanding. \nYou can\u2019t just go out to the cemetery to register voters. They must have a Social Security Number. They must have a legitimate address. All the information available to auditors and\nthe Secretary of State, the state\u2019s election commissioner, are basically\nfool-proof. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cWhat\u2019s your address?\u201d \u201cYou can\u2019t ask me that,\u201d I said. \u201cThat\u2019s a test, or at the least, it\u2019s a challenge.\u201d The election official was taken aback and became defensive. We engaged in a small discussion. I could see that I … Continue reading