DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate encourages 66 newly sworn-in U.S. citizens to "step up" and participate in Iowa's electoral process, including the upcoming Iowa Caucus. Pate hopes all Iowans will follow the example set by the new citizens by registering to vote, if they have not done so already.

"I encourage all of you not only to register to vote, but to now exercise your constitutional right to vote in Iowa's elections," Pate said. "After you register to vote today, I hope you will be able to take part in City Elections on November 3 and our Iowa Caucuses in February. You now play a big role in helping decide who the next President of the United State is. I urge you all to fulfill that opportunity."

Secretary Pate made the remarks during a Naturalization Ceremony at the Federal Courthouse in Des Moines. The ceremony was held in observance of Citizenship Day and Constitution Day.

Registering to vote in Iowa will soon be made simpler. The Secretary of State's Office is working with the Iowa Department of Transportation to institute online voter registration. The system will be implemented by January 1, 2016.

The online process leverages the Iowa DOT'S existing web portal, which allows customers to access online services by securely identifying themselves using their driver's license or state-issued identification. By utilizing the Iowa DOT's existing online portal and service infrastructure, the project will be delivered within existing budgets and at no additional cost to taxpayers.

"Iowa is a very generous state in trying to encourage voter participation," Secretary Pate said. "We have same day voter registration, we will have online voter registration and we have 40-day absentee ballot voting in this state. These are all there because we want to see Iowans involved in the process."

You can view Secretary Pate's remarks at the Naturalization Ceremony at the link below:

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