Opinion : To the Editor: Brad Anderson would help those who vote by mail

To The Editor: The top priority of the Iowa Secretary of State ought to be increasing election turnout. Iowans care deeply about ensuring voter access to the polls and it’s time for a Secretary of State who agrees. I proudly support Iowa Secretary of State candidate Brad Anderson.

Since graduating college I have lived in six countries, but always maintained my permanent address here in Iowa. In 2012 I was serving on mission trip. It would have been very difficult to print an absentee ballet request, and because of the places I was staying, it would have taken too long to receive a ballot. I had no way to vote in the 2012 election, not matter how badly I wanted to.

If you’re not in Iowa during the campaign season, early voting is much less accessible. Permanent vote by mail is a step Iowa needs to take to make voting easier for people like me. If I was always able have an absentee ballot sent to my home address in Vinton, my parents would be able to mail it to me in advance, leaving my only task to be filling out and sending back my ballot. Brad Anderson’s opponent, Paul Pate, opposes permanent vote by mail.

It’s true, most Iowans do not spend half their time overseas. All Iowans, however, deserve the right to an easy voting process. Permanent vote by mail is long overdue here in Iowa. Brad Anderson will take Iowa voting where it needs to go.