Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate joined with representatives from the U.S. and Iowa Departments of Homeland Security, the National Guard and other partners Monday to reassure Iowans their vote this November is safe.
“The integrity of the vote is my number one priority. If you vote in the November election, your vote will count, and it will be counted correctly,” Pate said. “The sanctity of the vote must be protected, and we are committing vast resources to ensure that happens.”
Pate added that the State of Iowa’s computer systems
“Secretary Pate has been an incredible partner in our combined efforts to improve the security and resilience of elections for the voters of Iowa,” Matt Masterson, Senior Cybersecurity Advisor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said. “Iowa takes its election security efforts seriously and DHS will continue to provide support to Secretary Pate and election officials to ensure a smooth and accurate election day on November 6.”
Pate’s office has partnered with DHS and the Iowa Office of the Chief Information Officer to provide cyber-protections to every county in the state.
“We’ve accelerated our engagements with counties and are pleased to say, that every county in the state is taking advantage of cybersecurity services provided by the State of Iowa,” Jeff Franklin with the Iowa Office of the Chief Information Officer, stated. “The majority of counties are utilizing several of our cybersecurity services.”
Pate also noted that a key security component for Iowa’s elections is the statewide use of paper ballots. Following the November 6 elections, Iowa will conduct post-election audits in all 99 counties for the first time in state history. Post-election audits were a significant part of the Election Modernization and integrity Act passed by the Iowa Legislature in 2017.
A short video that details many of the steps the Secretary of State’s Office and county auditors take to secure and protect your vote can be watched below: