Greetings from Des Moines where another week has come and gone. The floor action continues to increase as well as the number of bills being discussed on the floor.

I have had several visitors this week, too many to name individually. It is always good to see and visit with friend from back home.

The committees are starting to meet again. Now we are looking at bills that the Senate has passed and sent over to the House to be voted on. We like to think that we will improve what the Senate has done. The Senate would say the same thing about the bills that we have sent over to them, also.

The Iowa House debated House File 614 on Tuesday, a bill that complies with the federal "Help America Vote Act" or HAVA. The bill is important because it maintains the integrity of Iowa's elections, and it helps curb fraudulent voters. Floor managing it in the House was Rep. Libby Jacobs.

The bill would remove responsibility for oversight of elections from the office of an elected official with vested interests and transfer it to a newly-formed non-partisan "Elections, Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board". 

Under the bill, those voting would be required to show some form of ID. The forms of credible ID as put forth by HAVA include: a driver’s license, utility bill, bank statement, government check or other government document so long as the voter’s address is on it.

The GOP bill would expand the requirement of showing an ID to everyone attempting to vote at a voting booth. Under a Jacobs’s amendment, those voting by absentee ballot would not need to provide identification, provided it is not the individual’s first time voting in the county, or if the registrant provided a SSN or driver’s license number. This is a HAVA requirement.

Sweeping change in the area of absentee ballots would be enacted. Such changes include: shortening the number of days a ballot can be requested in order to relieve county auditors of added congestion during school board elections; uniform ballot request forms; and moving the deadline for auditors to send out ballots to seven days before Election Day.

Third parties would no longer be able to pick up requests or ballots from the absentee voter unless the third party is an immediate family member of the voter, or the voter is confined to bed and needs assistance. Penalties for picking up a ballot requests or ballots will be a first degree misdemeanor for each violation. In all other cases the absentee ballot must be personally sent by the voter requesting the ballot, or hand delivered by the voter to the county auditor’s office.

Also, polls would now close at 8 p.m. instead of 9 p.m. This was a legislative priority of the Iowa State Auditors Association. Each state surrounding Iowa has a poll closure time of 8 p.m. or earlier. The move will lessen the strain on auditors to find volunteers for the polls, as well as save the counties money.

One of the biggest requirements of HAVA is to have an electronic voting machine at each voting location and eliminate the old lever deices. The machines run the ballot through, alerting the voter if he or she in some way did not properly fill out the ballot. The voter may vote again if a mistake is made.

In a showing of support for military troops involved in "Operation Iraqi Freedom", the Iowa House overwhelming passed a resolution honoring their efforts.

House Resolution 39 was prepared by Rep. Steve Lukan, himself a military veteran and the youngest member of the house. Lukan petitioned members of both parties in the House, recruiting 57 fellow representatives to co-sponsor the bill with him; I was one of the co-sponsors.

"I think it’s important to show our troops that we fully back them, with the understanding that they are putting themselves in harm’s way in the name of our freedom and security," said Lukan, a Republican from New Vienna. "We have all been affected by this war, and this resolution shows that no matter what political affiliation a person might have, we all support our troops."

A certified copy of the resolution will be sent to each member of Iowa’s congressional delegation, Governor Vilsack, and President Bush.

With that thought I will continue to lift up President Bush and the military in my thoughts and prayers. I ask that you consider doing the same.

Until next week,

Tom Sands