JOHNSTON, Iowa — During a press conference on Wednesday morning, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate addressed Iowans concerns around election security ahead of Election Day on Tuesday.
Pate, and other state and federal officials, emphasized Iowa's commitment to election integrity, while highlighting pre-testing of equipment and post-election audits.
"I want Iowa voters to be assured that when they cast their vote in the general election, that their vote will be counted fairly and accurately thanks to our layered approach to election integrity," Pate said. "Iowa remains a top ranked state nationally for election administration."
Pate also added that law enforcement play a crucial role in maintaining a safe and credible election.
Commissioner Stephan K. Bayens, of the Department of Public Safety said: "These fraudsters are attempting to obtain your personal information so they can either steal your identity or trick you into believing you have already voted. We encourage all Iowans to be mindful of such efforts and to only rely on trusted information sources such as state or local election officials."
State officials also want Iowans to be aware of scam artists who may claim to offer online or phone voting. Pate said solely trust your state or county election officials on Tuesday instead.
Over the past couple weeks, the state sent county auditors a list of over 2,000 who self-identified as noncitizens and voted or registered to vote. Pate said if these people come in to vote, that person will only be able to cast a provisional ballot.
"We're not stopping anyone from voting where they are still on the voter registration rolls," Pate said. "This is different from what you see in other states where they remove these people. We are simply asking our poll workers to confirm their citizenship status because of the lag period and records we have available to us right now."
Pate said this awareness at the polls, and months of testing election equipment should ensure no interference on Election Day.
You can watch Wednesday's press conference in full, below.