Following President Trump’s prime-time speech addressing concerns with election integrity across the country, there has been renewed conversation about election security. Due to the diligence of House Republicans, elections in Iowa are safe, secure, and trusted.

Before Election Day

All voting machines and electric tabulators purchased by the counties are certified through the Board of Examiners to certify that the voting machines function properly and do not exhibit any issues. When the equipment is not being used it is stored in secure facilities accessible only to authorized election personnel.

Before election day all voting equipment is publicly tested in every county in front of members of each political party, the media, and any member of the public who chooses to view the test. Members of the public are even entitled to submit test ballots they marked themselves at the public test of the equipment.

In addition to the secure storage and regular testing of the voting equipment, routine voter registration list maintenance is performed by county auditors and the Secretary of State’s office to ensure that only voters who are eligible to vote in that precinct are on the list.

During the absentee ballot period the county auditors and the Secretary of State’s office are now required to publish daily the number of absentee ballot requests received, absentee ballots sent, and completed absentee ballots received by the county auditors. This increase in public reporting is another redundancy to ensure transparency in the process. In addition to the increased reporting, county auditors are now limited to establishing only one ballot drop box that is secured and monitored on the county property. These drop boxes are required to be emptied and recorded at least four times a day during the absentee voting period.

Citizenship In order to register to vote in Iowa an individual is required to be a US citizen. If an individual attempts to register to vote online through the Department of Transportation or in person at a DOT station and cannot verify their citizenship no data or registration is submitted to the Secretary of State’s office. House Republicans passed House File 954, now law, to address the issue and protects the constitutional requirement that only US citizens participate in our elections. Division IX of the bill strengthens citizenship verification and helps ensure that the Secretary of State and county

auditors in Iowa are not solely reliant on the federal government to confirm a potential voter’s citizenship status. A status code for voter registration records designated as "unconfirmed" will ensure that ballots are not given to any potential voters who have not confirmed their citizenship status within the system. This status will apply to individuals whose citizenship status has yet to be confirmed or has informed the DOT or other state agencies that they are not US citizens. To bolster the unconfirmed status the law directs the sharing of information between state agencies and other states to ensure the most up to date information of potential individuals who have indicated to a state agency that they are not citizens. The law also expanded reasons to cancel a voter’s registration to include citizenship status and allows challenges of voter’s qualifications to include questioning citizenship status.

Election Day

Voters are required to provide valid identification to poll workers before they are able to receive a paper ballot. Voting equipment in Iowa does not connect to the internet or any other voting equipment. Every ballot cast in an election in Iowa is a paper ballot reviewable by the voter before submitting the ballot. After the polls close on election day, the bipartisan election board canvasses the votes at each polling place. This canvass is done publicly to credit each candidate with the number of votes for the candidates and a member from each party keeps a separate tally of the count to be compared. The election board then prepares a written report of the election results, and the results are delivered to the county auditor in person by a precinct election official. Before adjourning, the election board encloses the paper ballots in a container with a tamper evident seal and returned to the county auditor to be kept securely for a minimum of 6 months for nonfederal elections and 22 months for federal elections.

Post-Election Day

Following the election, the Secretary of State randomly audits one precinct in each county to ensure that the results match the ballots and the paper receipt from the tabulators. In addition to the county audits, candidates within a certain percentage of votes of winning are entitled to request and receive an official recount of votes. Iowa’s elections are conducted off-line and with transparency. At precinct, county, and state levels boards publicly canvass and certify the results of the elections. Audits, and if necessary, recounts are conducted to ensure the official election results are accurate.

US House Begins Work on New Five-Year Transportation Funding Plan

With the current federal transportation funding law about to expire at the end of September, Congress has begun work on a replacement. And the first version includes several provisions that address issues the House Transportation Committee identified as priorities for Iowa.

At the end of May, the US House Transportation Committee passed out its version of a new road funding bill. The BUILD America 250 Act would pump nearly 580 billion dollars into America’s various transportation systems between fiscal years 2027 and 2031. While much of the legislation being passed through Congress is passed after highly partisan debates, the BUILD America 250 Act came out of committee with a bipartisan vote of 62-2.

The bill would dedicate more of the funding for road construction than is allowed under the current law enacted during the Biden administration. It also eliminates a number of climate-related provisions created in that law. For states like Iowa, one interesting idea included in the BUILD America 250 Act is a provision that would allow several states to take their road funding as a block grant. This would free states from requirements imposed on the current federal funding streams and focus more of the funding on actual projects. Advocates of this idea say it could be a big plus for local governments, improving their ability to use federal funding for roads instead of complying with numerous federal requirements that have no relevance in their communities.

The thousand-page bill also includes a number of state-specific provisions. For Iowa, one such piece involves the highway 65/5 bypass around the southern part of the Des Moines metro area. Area officials have wanted to transform this stretch of roadway into Interstate 435, but that is complicated by the fact that the bypass can be used by farmers to go between fields. If the road were to be changed into an interstate, this sort of traffic would not be allowed since it cannot operate at the minimum-required speed.

One potential solution has been to construct alternate routes for ag traffic. This would be an expensive option, requiring years of planning, construction, and agreement with landowners. A different option would be to get permission to allow the ag traffic on the road while setting up a warning system that would alert traffic that tractors and implements of husbandry were on the road. It looks like the House Transportation Committee is alright with the latter.

The bill includes a provision in section 1302 that states that if the bypass were to become an interstate highway, the vehicles that are currently allowed on the bypass would still be able to use the road as an interstate.

Another issue that the Iowa House Transportation Committee has pushed for several years is changing the maximum weight limit on Iowa’s interstates. This level is set by federal law at 80,000 pounds. But previous transportation funding bills have included specific exemptions for various parts of the national interstate system. Nebraska was granted a higher limit of 95,000 pounds with a special permit, which means trucks have to stay off Iowa’s interstate system if they do not drop any cargo before entering the state. This creates traffic safety issues, particularly in Council Bluffs.

The General Assembly passed House Concurrent Resolution 6, requesting that Congress raise the weight limit in Iowa and bordering states to 96,000 pounds. The BUILD America 250 Act does not include this change, although it does allow trucks to carry up to 108,000 pounds on a portion of Interstate 380 between Highways 20 and 218.

Instead, the bill creates a pilot program that would allow states to raise the interstate weight limit to 91,000 pounds if the trucks are operating with six axels instead of the current limit of 80,000 pounds on five axels. This provision appears to have the support of various trucking groups.

The BUILD America 250 Act awaits action on the floor of the US House of Representatives. The US Senate has yet to put forward their version of a new transportation funding bill. With the current law set to expire on September 30, it is likely that Congress will at least need to pass a short-term extension before they can come to an agreement on a new plan. But the BUILD America 250 Act is a good start with some positive changes for Iowa.