Secretary Pate assures voters of Iowa's election integrity

DES MOINES — Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate and state and federal partners are reassuring voters of the many steps taken to provide a secure election. The State of Iowa has received national awards for its election cybersecurity efforts and was named one of the top three states in the nation for election administration.

“In Iowa, we take a holistic approach to election integrity and security – pre-election testing, paper ballots, post-election audits, enhancing cybersecurity measures, and partnerships with our Election Security A Team make that possible,” said Pate. “The public should be reassured that we are protecting the integrity of their vote in all 99 counties.”

Pate also reassured Iowans that their votes are cast safely and if anyone tries to impede that process in any way, election officials have local law enforcement on speed dial.

“Intelligence and law enforcement communities at all levels of government have been tasked with ensuring our elections are safe and secure,” Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens said. “Iowans respect and actively exercise their right to vote and do so with civility and integrity. We take our responsibility to protect this right seriously and will be aggressive in deterring any criminal effort to compromise our system of government.”

The Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management assists in monitoring Election Day activity.

"Every voter in Iowa should have the opportunity to freely, safely, and securely cast their vote," said John Benson, director of the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. "The department is proud to support Iowa’s election safety and security efforts."

The State of Iowa works with the federal government to ensure elections are protected at every level.

“Iowans should feel very confident when they go to the ballot box, that their vote will be counted as cast,” said Phil Kirk, regional director from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “They should have every confidence in the integrity of Iowa’s elections. And they should have confidence in the state and local election officials and their partners in the federal government who've been working in solidarity to ensure the security and resilience of our elections.”

Pate also partners with fellow state agencies to ensure top level cybersecurity protections.

“In support of this year's election, the Department of Management, Division of Information Technology, formerly the Office of the Chief Information Officer, will be monitoring cyberthreats. The State of Iowa Security Operations Center will provide 24-hour-a-day cyberthreat monitoring and heightened support during this year’s elections,” said Shane Dwyer, State of Iowa chief information security officer.

Pate and other speakers also urged Iowans to be leery of election misinformation and disinformation. Instead, turn to trusted sources for election information, which are the Secretary of State and county election officials.

“I’d like to provide an additional thanks to local partners, including county auditors and the unsung heroes of elections, poll workers. They stepped up to provide a civic duty and put in long hours. It’s an important job and they do it because they care about our elections,” Pate said.