Election Security in Iowa
MYTH VS. FACT #1
MYTH:
Voter tabulators are connected to the internet, making them vulnerable to hacking and manipulation.
FACT:
Iowans vote on paper ballots in all elections and those ballots are preserved to ensure accurate results. Vote tabulators are not connected to the internet or to each other. Every vote tabulator is stored securely when not in use and undergoes a logic accuracy test (basically a pre-election audit) in which the public is invited to attend and watch. Sample ballots are tested on the machine to ensure the tabulators are working correctly and recording votes properly. Post-election audits are conducted in all 99 counties to ensure the hand-count and tabulator totals match. In the 2020 elections, the post-election audits matched the tabulator results perfectly, 100%, in all 99 counties. Additionally, Iowa has conducted numerous recounts in several counties in recent years, again verifying the accuracy of the vote tabulators.
MYTH VS. FACT #2
MYTH:
IP addresses going to county websites or systems are evidence of hacking.
FACT:
IP addresses indicate a person visited a website. Every time you visit a website, the IP address assigned to your computer will show up on the report. There is ZERO evidence of any unauthorized intrusions into Iowa's election systems. A county's website has no connection to any election equipment.
MYTH VS. FACT #3
MYTH:
Hand-counted results are more secure and should be implemented.
FACT:
Hand-counting 1.7 million ballots for the results of one election would take several weeks and would be much more prone to human error and potential fraud than vote tabulators that are certified, tested, and audited before and after the election to ensure accuracy.
MYTH VS. FACT #4
MYTH:
Absentee voting by mail is prone to fraud.
FACT:
Iowa has instituted Voter ID at the polls and on absentee ballot request forms to protect the integrity of the vote. Voters are required to enter their Voter ID number on their request form before submitting it to their county auditor. The Voter ID number and the voter's address must match the voter's information in the voter registration database before a ballot can be mailed.
MYTH VS. FACT #5
MYTH:
More people voted than are registered.
FACT:
A record high 1.7 million Iowans voted in the November 2020 election. That is 77% of Iowa's 2.2 million registered voters.
MYTH VS. FACT #6
MYTH:
Iowa has "dirty" voter rolls.
FACT:
Iowa conducts voter list maintenance on a constant basis and recent law changes and partnerships help us ensure the cleanest voter rolls possible.
MYTH VS. FACT #7
MYTH:
Hundreds of thousands of people were "purged" from the voter rolls after the 2020 general election, without their knowledge.
FACT:
Every March, the Iowa Secretary of State's Office conducts voter list maintenance as required by federal and state law. Registered voters who did not participate in the 2020 general election received a No Activity mailing to confirm their residential address, due to legislation signed into law in February 2021. Receiving that notice did not affect anyone's ability to vote in any election in 2021, 2022, 2023 or 2024. The voting experience for inactive voters is identical to that of active voters. After voting in any election in any of those years, their status returns to active. They could also respond to the mailing, or update their voter registration, or request an absentee ballot for any election through November 2024 to make their registration status active.
To check your voter registration status, visit sos.iowa.gov/amiregistered. To register to vote or update your registration, go to sos.iowa.gov/registertovote. There were 294,148 No Activity notices mailed to Iowans in March 2020. Those that received the mailing were based entirely on data entered in the I-Voters system by county auditors. As required by Iowa law, "Registered voters receiving such notice shall be marked inactive." Voters who register prior to turning 18 years old are considered active registered voters, and therefore were subject to Iowa's voter list maintenance laws at the time. The inclusion of voters under of the age of 18 was addressed in subsequent legislation and they will not be included in future voter list maintenance activity. This affected approximately 400 registered voters in the state. They were still registered voters and able to participate in any election.
MYTH VS. FACT #8
MYTH:
The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) is a tool used by George Soros to rig elections.
FACT:
The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) helps Iowa and other states maintain clean and accurate voter lists. Its operating costs are funded completely by annual dues paid by member states. This partnership with 30 other states helps us identify deceased voters, voters who have moved both in state and out of state, and voters who might have cast a ballot in more than one state during an election. ERIC is an effective tool for ensuring the integrity of Iowa's voter rolls. The Iowa Legislature made membership in ERIC a state law in 2021 because legislators see the value in partnering with other states to help maintain clean voter rolls. ERIC's membership agreement strictly prohibits them from selling, sharing, or disclosing Iowa's data to any person, party, organization, or group. Also, the data is protected under the Federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), and the data is not public record. A board, comprised entirely by representatives from member states, oversees ERIC. ERIC was not founded by George Soros and has never been funded by George Soros.
For a more in-depth fact sheet on Iowa's election security and integrity, click here.