With the 2000 election controversy still fresh in many people’s minds, officials in Iowa have increased efforts to assure that every person in the state is able to cast a vote.

As a response to growing concern over the accessibility and security of the American election system, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act in 2002, which created a veritable laundry list of new requirements to be completed across the state by 2006. Along with new mandates, the act also helped states update funding through a series of grants, of which Iowa managed to secure more than $30 million.

Before any states could receive money, however, a comprehensive plan had to be presented outlining the exact details of the goals that would be achieved, said Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver.

In this election cycle, Culver said, the main goals were to increase the accessibility of polls for disabled voters and to educate Iowans about their rights as voters. In each of Iowa’s 1,980 precincts, new posters and informational pamphlets will be available to help those educational efforts, he said.

“Voter education under HAVA is really emphasized,” Culver said.

“That’s going to be my focus in the last 60 days [before the election].”

According to the Secretary of State’s office, more than $99,000 has been pumped into the voter education system.

Another unique reform this cycle is that, for the first time in history, blind voters will be able to cast their ballot in secrecy, said Jan McNelly, Iowa League of Women Voters president.

“We had a lot of discussion about how to really address all of the special needs in existence in our population,” McNelly said.

Voice-activated technology is just one of the things available now that wasn’t before, she said. Other measures include helping to simplify voting regulations from something that would confuse even lawyers, she said, to an easier-to-understand format.

Despite all the changes and the proactive stance of the Secretary of State’s office, many of the actions by the Statehouse have taken too long, McNelly said.

In 2003, the Iowa version of HAVA was vetoed by Gov. Tom Vilsack after the Legislature failed to provide matching funds for the federal grant money. It wasn’t until April 2004 that an appropriate version of the act passed through the Legislature. In accordance with the federal act, the Iowa version contained measures to make the voting more secure. However, McNelly said, the new security provisions may make it much more complicated for voters to cast a ballot.

“There was quite a rigmarole for voters at the polls,” she said.

New requirements will mean voters need to go through special channels to receive verification to vote, she said, which include having a certain amount of identification and new measures to provide secure absentee ballots. All voters, she said, are encouraged to bring identification to the polls, however.

All these new requirements, she said, cause problems with poll workers who have worked many past elections.

“It’s really difficult to get people who are accustomed to do one way, to do things a different way,” she said.