[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6606510,"mediaKeyId","2963302-9708d69ddf7e113ca4240ba6c79357c4","parentId",2963302,"title","Secretary of State warns of risks if federal election cybersecurity programs are cut","audioSeconds",125,"startMs",1415000,"endMs",1540000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2963302-9708d69ddf7e113ca4240ba6c79357c4&start=1415&end=1540","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2963302-9708d69ddf7e113ca4240ba6c79357c4/thumbnail_1415000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6606510/Iowa/Secretary-of-State-warns-of-risks-if-federal-election-cybersecurity-programs-are-cut","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6606510-039d5303714f6d5a33b289ff295347ba/orig.mp4?Expires=1773607472&Signature=RfU9UeBT8bYcwWcCqh1zAdNd4iVdnT8NGddSot0TG9rii76Lf1uj4ZPa73QgkZ0bKvnyvI-MyV9SUUmmgQNES3F6Kj5mTxMl8VBa69j8jS7hNWPXDxqiQWnERFLMltgV5-hpmMuFU2GOSM3rAR4mK~UcJ~mDkUe0m92l93s9IOgfD78vbjknXoJG0crGmOrGBueD6BCErwDubP8y0BvuQwK4ot5JEEcf4uYrmtXnVRvTwi7NfUQp4RvaK9-bpZ~tNVXyVPfj9Fb4OSI8x7~jNetl7IwYsMP8F~KPyQMoiKPggI5I5sSHBM83VzuE5mz0VJf~soRyRbL-iNq6wwf53A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Secretary State ","date","2025-04-11T16:45:19.01Z","article","Paul Pate, Iowa secretary of state, warned that changes or reductions to federal election cybersecurity programs would be consequential for Iowa and other states that rely on federal support and interagency partnerships.

“It would be pretty serious, and we've had conversations with them on that regard,” Pate said on Iowa Press about federal plans to reformat or suspend cybersecurity programs. He said states receive cyber protections and technical support that help defend voter-registration databases and other election-related systems.

Pate noted that Iowa’s vote tabulation systems are not connected to the internet, but stressed that voter registration databases and other state systems still require active defense because foreign adversaries and other bad actors routinely attempt intrusions. “We want to make sure the voter registration database is secure as well, because they're always a bad actor out there who wants to show they're the smartest,” he said.

He said he was awaiting detail on how the federal programs would be restructured but expected continued support in some form. Pate said Iowa partners with state agencies and federal entities to maintain cybersecurity protections and would prefer continuation of coordinated assistance.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Iowa Secretary of State","oneSentenceSummary","Paul Pate said Iowa relies on federal cybersecurity support and partnerships to protect voter registration systems and that changes to federal programs could be 'pretty serious.' He reiterated that Iowa's vote tabulation equipment is not online but that registration databases remain a target.","taxTitle","Secretary State, Executive, Iowa","taxId",27434,"location","Iowa","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6606514,"Iowa election bills would expand registration checks, change recount rules and ban ranked-choice voting, secretary says",1166,107000,1273000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2963302-9708d69ddf7e113ca4240ba6c79357c4&start=107&end=1273","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2963302-9708d69ddf7e113ca4240ba6c79357c4/thumbnail_107000.jpg","/articles/6606514/Iowa/Iowa-election-bills-would-expand-registration-checks-change-recount-rules-and-ban-ranked-choice-voting-secretary-says","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6606514-8763605a4abb4d1f13cb6415cf3207cb/orig.mp4?Expires=1773607472&Signature=NTwGyJeIL5elJyRnkwQIDi-V1RbXcizy2Gk9Pdj~UXHcNPFg-X2YIv~HfzS~muAwaEp2~PKMINWkr5oqpoCrgpZjaRLdrpgFO2yJySiFDzvepmTvtVzasCAvm57FLbMFvRXxXvnEf97Q1KxVyBOu8RuX81Jz5TbQvYSYyIBxz25AMQxVx-33xm8pyQNqTW1QmuGZIfcjfuUKqCFtwrFQvwbo8qz6Xs10XrE3eerGqA-si~h6FZ6Zh87~Itgq7IrU57wXDJ5Ad8RKbbOLbU4AAtQOAw7s2-GjBBg-zvITxDcZGgPLo8GLPo1UjtQO~Xq3RSR4p9YwlPFDhs0EjPzNcQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate outlined components of a broad elections package moving through the Legislature that he said would make registration and recount procedures more uniform and clarify who gets access to federal immigration and identity lists.

Pate said the bills include provisions to emphasize registration-level verification of citizenship rather than attempting to resolve questions at polling places on Election Day. “I personally prefer my approach, and that is one where we deal with all this at the voter registration level rather than the day they're voting,” Pate said.

The legislation would, by Pate’s account, authorize his office to obtain federal lists used to check immigration or citizenship status and clarify the format states should receive them. Pate told Iowa Press that before the 2024 election the federal lists were either not shared or were provided in formats that complicated matching; he said the state requested lists keyed to Social Security numbers to reduce name-matching errors.

The package also contains provisions affecting poll-worker procedures. Pate said poll workers already have authority to ask about citizenship, identity and address, and that the bill aims to give poll workers tools to remedy questions so voters do not have to cast provisional ballots on the spot. “What we were actually doing in the bill was trying to make it where they could actually remedy the situation to avoid having to do a provisional ballot right then and there,” Pate said, adding the changes are meant to reduce confusion and not to create new authority.

Recount legislation has moved through the House and was in the Senate at the time of the interview. Pate said the bill seeks uniform recount procedures across counties, and it would place county auditors and their staff as members of recount boards (a change some auditors have questioned). The bill also proposes threshold limits for triggering recounts: an automatic or candidate-requested recount only if the margin is 1% or less in larger contests, and a 50-vote threshold in smaller contests, language Pate described as a legislative policy choice intended to limit frivolous recounts and taxpayer costs.

Other provisions in the wider election bill package would make it harder for minor parties to achieve major-party status and would add a so-called “sore-loser” rule that bars a primary-losing candidate from running in the general election under another party or no-party label. Pate said he did not draft that provision but that several states have similar rules.

The package would also ban ranked-choice voting in Iowa, which Pate supported on grounds of continuity and administrative simplicity. “It’s hard enough to get people to vote, and to confuse them with a ranked-choice voting process … I think is a recipe for disaster,” he said.

Pate said he supports improved uniformity and training for recounts and poll workers and stressed transparency measures in the House bill such as public observation and party representation during recounts.

The bills discussed were described in general terms on the program; specific bill numbers, enactment language and effective dates were not provided on air.","Secretary of State Paul Pate described provisions in a major Iowa elections package: front-end citizenship checks at registration, allowing poll-worker remedies to avoid on-the-spot provisional ballots, changes to recount boards and thresholds, a ban on ranked-choice voting and limits on party access to ballots.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6606520,"Secretary of State: 35 noncitizens voted in 2024; investigations and federal data sharing remain unresolved",260,323000,583000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2963302-9708d69ddf7e113ca4240ba6c79357c4&start=323&end=583","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2963302-9708d69ddf7e113ca4240ba6c79357c4/thumbnail_323000.jpg","/articles/6606520/Iowa/Secretary-of-State-35-noncitizens-voted-in-2024-investigations-and-federal-data-sharing-remain-unresolved","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6606520-d524dfcd6f76625454d2d2dcd2dd3561/orig.mp4?Expires=1773607472&Signature=mEaKn-BYHiuegnbB6W3pvN9yiT8RbowD4S549eIPbJ96-ZXUMjAzmO1kDwbBrRE96NrjK9egW-EW2TX9PZMQU49ez2N5tYBQM5hSIi97jYK1uJV0~bBzVuOmEaY1vq14Wyy7HSvVCqOaZL2uyIoScDG5kX1cfcgoD9Wp~o1bNry4-7zEeybwM901dF39y3eG1NnD1hTK3I3uzCa6FlkRstDTl75PUIKjRmCf3WVXskYhs-WPi7g0HppQpiL1jAhRyHvD1-EGYRPy0aHZnUWNm5gAz14rJjQ3PDTOqEOkTnM9-u8Bf0YxdFoiUnhasOvvmjCZA4Y0i5DEJlUPq4GdTA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Paul Pate, Iowa secretary of state, said that 35 noncitizens had ballots counted in Iowa’s 2024 general election and that state officials have referred suspected illegal registrations and votes to the Iowa attorney general and the Department of Criminal Investigations.

Pate told Iowa Press that his office initially worked from a Department of Transportation list of about 2,100 names that could be outdated. “That’s the information we cross checked against our voter registration database,” he said. He said the office later obtained a federal list and narrowed the potential matches to about 270 names and then to 35 whose votes were counted; five others attempting to vote were turned away, he said, for a total of about 40 attempted votes by noncitizens.

Why it happened and how the count shifted, Pate said, reflected limits on federal data sharing before the election. “Because the federal government would not share their database with us when we kept asking for it, it put us in a place where we had to work from a list that could be outdated,” Pate said. He said the state asked the Biden administration for the current list and later received it; Pate added the Trump administration also provided a list but in a different format, and Iowa asked for the file keyed to Social Security numbers rather than a special federal ID to reduce name-matching errors.

Pate said the office did not throw out ballots simply because a name appeared on the initial list. Instead, counties were asked to use the list at check-in so poll workers could note questions and, where appropriate, have voters cast provisional ballots to be reviewed after election day. “No one had a ballot thrown out for that being on that list,” Pate said.

The secretary of state said his office and the attorney general have turned names over to investigators. “They’ve been turned over to the attorney general and our DCI, Department of Criminal Investigations. They’re pursuing those,” he said. Pate said at least one charge had been publicly shared and that more were likely as investigators process the referrals.

Pate said the episode has strengthened his office’s push to perform eligibility checks at the voter-registration stage rather than at polling places on Election Day. He said improved access to federal lists in a usable format would allow the state to keep its voter rolls current and reduce on-the-spot eligibility questions at polling sites.

The secretary cautioned that officials faced logistical and timing challenges before the 2024 election and emphasized that the state was trying to avoid disenfranchising eligible voters while identifying registrations by noncitizens.

The attorney general’s office and DCI are handling the criminal review; Pate said his office would continue to press for clearer, standardized federal data for future cross-checks.","Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said 35 noncitizens cast ballots in the 2024 general election after cross-checks of a federal list; Iowa has referred cases to the attorney general and the Department of Criminal Investigations while pressing for better-formatted federal data.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Secretary of State warns of risks if federal election cybersecurity programs are cut

Iowa election bills would expand registration checks, change recount rules and ban ranked-choice voting, secretary says

Secretary of State: 35 noncitizens voted in 2024; investigations and federal data sharing remain unresolved