Republicans on an Iowa Senate panel advanced a bill aimed at strengthening checks of voters’ citizenship status.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says it will help him partner with other agencies to get more information about registered voters.
“This bill, particularly, is a way for us to do more on the front end to make sure that on the voter registration side, we’re doing our due diligence to make sure only qualified eligible citizens who are meeting all the criteria are the ones who are voting — taking some of that off the side of waiting until Election Day.”
Sen. Cindy Winckler, D-Davenport, opposed the bill over concerns that the part allowing poll workers to ask voters if they’re citizens would lead to discrimination.
Pate also says he now has access to a federal list of noncitizens who have permission to be in the U.S. He’s comparing that to the voter registration list to determine if any noncitizens voted in the 2024 election.