TURNS A 60 DAY PROCESS INTO 5 MINUTES
(Cedar Rapids, IA) Today, former Iowa Secretary of State and Mayor of Cedar Rapids, Paul D. Pate released his plan to use technology to make it easier for those serving in the military to vote.
"I am committed to ensuring those who defend our freedoms have every viable option to participate in our elections." My goal is to make Iowa one of the top states in military voting by pursuing state of art technology which allow overseas military voters to turn a 60-day process into less than a 5 minute transaction," stated Pate.
Pate unveiled today he will pursue funding sources from the Department of Defense to implement innovative technology like South Dakota's military voting program. The Department of Defense office of Federal Voting Assistance previously made grants available to help fund improved technology.
By combining advanced technology and using the security of the Common Access Card (CAC) issued by the Department of Defense for validation, military absentee voting will be secure and simplified for military voters to register to vote, request and receive an absentee ballot and mark an absentee ballot within a few minutes. The absentee ballot is then printed and returned to the local county auditor for counting. This new technology significantly reduces paperwork required by our military personnel and substantially shortens the process while increasing security. The Common Access Card issued by the Department of Defense which verifies and authenticates the identity of the military voter is the key component
Pate shared, "I believe, if new technology is available that allow our military personnel secure an easy access to voting we should honor them with our efforts to make this possible. Currently, as a result of diligent efforts put forth by our local county auditors and the Secretary of State's office, Iowa is recognized as an "All Star" state by the Military Voter Protection Project."
A lifelong Iowan and small business owner, Pate is recognized as a Patriotic Employer by the National Committee for Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve.
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