Iowa City may sample a virtual voting project

By Chao Xiong, The Daily Iowan
Wednesday, September 29, 1999

Low voter turnout may become a plague of the past, as Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver looks at the prospect of utilizing the Internet as a tool for quick, easy voting.

"We're still working out the details," said Donn Stanley, Iowa deputy secretary of State for communications. "What we're doing is attempting to pilot the project with the municipal elections in a couple of communities in the state so we can evaluate how the system works and see if it might be workable here in Iowa."

The pilot project is targeted for the Nov. 2 Iowa City City Council general election but is still in the preliminary stages of being planned and approved, said Tom Slockett, Johnson County auditor.

Slockett said he was contacted by Culver on Sept. 24 to measure the degree of interest in piloting the project in a few cities in Johnson County.

"I think it's important to begin a dialogue with the cities immediately if there's any chance of the pilot program happening," Slockett said.

Culver hopes that the pilot project will be operated in conjunction with the Seattle Internet firm, Vote Here Now, which is developing technology for Internet voting.

"It (the firm) was interested in Iowa because it was interested in getting involved with the Iowa caucus," said Stanley, adding that the firm contacted the secretary of State's office about the pilot project.

According to the firm's Web site, it was founded in 1996 by President and CEO Jim Adler. The firm has developed three products for encrypting and signing electronic documents and has conducted election demonstrations in several small counties in Washington state.

If the pilot project is approved, after voters cast their ballots in normal fashion, pilot project representatives would ask them to voluntarily cast a mock vote on the Internet.

A staff observer and assistant from the secretary of State's office would be present at one or more precincts.

Stanley said Woodberry and Johnson counties have been the only counties contacted about the pilot project.

"Any way you can get people to vote, I'm for it," said City Councilor Connie Champion. "I think it would be a great idea."

A document released by the secretary of State's office reported that during the 1998 general election, only 54.4 percent of registered voters -- 46 percent of those eligible to register to vote -- went to the polls.

The worst showing was by voters in the 18-24-year age group. Only 15 percent voted, though it has the highest registration percentage of all groups.

"The principle of making it easier for people to vote -- I'm all for it," said Councilor Dee Norton. "They try to make it easier for students, but there's always bad turnout in student precincts."

Stanley said Culver is looking at other alternatives to increase voter turnout.

"Secretary of State Culver is very interested in the historically low turnout in Iowa, and this is just one of the things he is looking at to increase voter turnout," he said.

Stanley said Culver has also looked into voting by mail, which is practiced in Oregon, and same-day-registration, which allows people to register and vote on the same day.

Slockett said that ideally, the City Council will vote to approve the project; a meeting next week will delve more into the details of enacting the project.

Norton and Champion said the pilot project is not currently on the council's agenda.