Editorial Roundup: Iowa

Des Moines Register. Nov 1, 2020

If you haven’t voted, Tuesday is your big day. Mask up. Cast a ballot. Then wash your hands.

Editorial: It’s not too late; Iowa is one of a handful of states where residents can register and vote on Election Day

Take nothing for granted when it comes to Tuesday’s general election.

Don’t assume “common sense” will prevail at the ballot box. Don’t trust specific candidates will win or lose because they’re ahead or behind in polls. Don’t think voting is useless.

Your vote matters. Every vote matters.

Bad politicians are elected by good people who fail to vote.

Too many Iowans failed to vote in the 2016 general election. About 420,000 active Iowa voters, more than 20% of us, did not turn out.

Please, Iowa, make 2020 the year of record voter turnout.

This is your opportunity to embrace or reject current leadership at the state and federal level. Every single elected official directly impacts your life.

The next president will lead us, or fail to lead us, to the other side of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Members of Congress will determine everything from the future of Social Security and food assistance to reforming our broken immigration system and revising how health insurance works if Obamacare is dismantled by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

State lawmakers influence water quality, taxation, funding for education, Medicaid oversight and numerous other matters.

County sheriffs can be leaders in ensuring that equal justice is available to everyone, and other local officials facilitate conservation and public hospital services.

Iowans have listened for months, even years, as politicians campaigned in person and bought nonstop advertisements. We’ve watched a president foster divisiveness and Iowa legislators bust unions, refuse to fund conservation and erode reproductive rights.

Have something to say about any of that?

Well, voting is your chance to talk back.

Do not take the privilege for granted. Americans throughout history have risked their lives ensuring oppressed groups in this country could vote. Our soldiers have died to deliver the right to vote to people in other countries. Iowans marched in the streets earlier this year to demand voting rights be restored for people who had served felony sentences, and those rights were restored to many people.

The very least each of us can do is take the time to cast a ballot.

If you’ve already done this by absentee ballot, kudos to you for participating in democracy. Now direct your energies to turning out others.

You can cast an early ballot at your county auditor’s office as late as Monday, Nov. 2. If you have not voted by then, Tuesday, Nov. 3, is your big day. If you haven’t even registered to vote, you can still vote on Election Day.

Registered voters can find their polling place at VoterReady.Iowa.gov. or by calling your county auditor. When you go to that location on Election Day, you must prove who you are. The best way to do that is with a valid Iowa driver’s license.

Unlike most other states, Iowa offers same-day registration, which allows any qualified resident to register and vote on Election Day. Bring a photo ID that is current, valid and has an expiration date. Also bring another document with your name and current address, such as a utility bill, cellphone bill, bank statement, paycheck or rental agreement.

If you don’t have these documents, a registered voter from your precinct may attest for you. You’ll both be required to sign an oath swearing the statements being made are true.

Cast a ballot - and do it safely amid an infectious disease pandemic. Maintain physical distance from others. Avoid lingering indoors. Wear a mask. Don’t touch your face.

When you get home, wash your hands thoroughly, pat yourself on the back and cross your fingers the electorate has put this country on track for a better future.

Which candidates reflect your values?

Voting is a personal exercise. No one can force you to cast a ballot for a candidate you do not support. You do not need to tell family or friends how you voted. They cannot find out. You have no obligation to explain to anyone the candidates you voted for or why.

The only person you must answer to is you.

Des Moines Register’s endorsements of political candidates are not intended to tell Iowans how to vote. They are, however, intended to express the editorial board’s opinion on who is best suited to represent the interests of Iowans. The Register has endorsed:

President: Joe Biden

U.S. Senate: Theresa Greenfield

1st Congressional District: Abby Finkenauer

2nd Congressional District: Rita Hart

3rd Congressional District: Cindy Axne

4th Congressional District: J.D. Scholten

Judicial retention: Vote to retain judges unless you have a specific reason to remove them. The Iowa State Bar Association, which provides a performance review of judges, found that all the judges on the ballot “are qualified to remain as judges.”

Constitutional convention: Vote no on this question, which is required by the Iowa Constitution to be placed on the ballot every 10 years. Holding a convention risks fast-tracking amendments that could erode the rights enshrined in our state constitution.

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Quad City Times. Nov. 1, 2020

Be patient on Election Day

When is an election officially decided?

It’s a question we all should ponder going into Tuesday – Election Day 2020.

Typically, Americans expect same-day results, especially with the presidency at stake. But it is worth remembering that what we usually hear and see in the late hours of the Tuesday following the first Monday in November are “unofficial” results. Or, more often, projections from news organizations based on near-complete results.

Usually, these “early” calls suffice to accurately tell us who won. Most elections aren’t nail-biters and there usually are relatively few problems that delay vote tabulations.

Still, counting all the “unofficial” results can take longer than a single day. And “official’ results aren’t in until a certification process takes place in the days and weeks after Election Day. These are typically formalities that draw little attention.

We make this point for a reason: As we all know, this is not a typical year.

We go into Election Day 2020 confronted by political divisions and suspicions many of us have never experienced. And, because of the pandemic, a record number of Americans are sending their ballots in by mail. This is a trustworthy system. And it’s not just us saying it. Quad-City voters said it during the primary and are saying it now in record numbers by entrusting their own general election ballots to this system.

Already, 56,664 Scott County voters had cast votes early, by absentee or in-person, according to data released Friday morning. Meanwhile, 39,064 people had cast votes in Rock Island County as of late Thursday, most of those by mail, according to the clerk’s office. (We hope those who haven’t voted yet will do so; there are ample opportunities, and election officials say they are taking extra care to make sure polling places are safe).

We were a little surprised to hear election officials tell us Friday that, despite the large number of absentee ballots, they still expect to report unofficial results by late Tuesday night.

Of course, not all election jurisdictions will move this quickly. With the record number of votes sent through the mail, counting even unofficial results is probably going to take longer than normal.

Still, this is no cause for alarm. In close elections, it’s not unusual for results to be called after Election Day. It happened in the 2016 presidential election. It happened in 2004. It happened in 1960.

It took 36 days to resolve the 2000 presidential election, though that obviously is not an experience we want to repeat.

We don’t know how long it will take to tabulate the votes in this election. But we have confidence in the election officials who are administering and overseeing this process.

What’s more comforting: There are layers of oversight aimed at scrutinizing them.

County boards and state election authorities examine the work of local registrars and poll workers in the days and weeks after an election - all before the results are stamped “official.”

There have been attempts to undermine confidence in our election process. But we believe in these procedures. They have served us well over the years, and while there are extra challenges this year, we have confidence that 2020 will be no different.

We hope that people exercise patience Tuesday night. We may not – some analysts have been saying for weeks we probably will not – know the results of some elections, including the presidential balloting, on Election Day.

That’s not ideal, but it’s still OK. It doesn’t mean something has gone wrong. Or that fraud is taking place.

What it most likely means is that election officials, confronted with an unusual election, will instead be working overtime to make sure the vote is counted accurately.

Yes, we realize some will use this moment to try to ignite havoc. Social media likely will be a particularly rich source of bile and conspiracy. (The latter, no doubt, aided by foreign adversaries.)

Don’t get sucked in. Be patient. Maybe turn off Twitter.

The news media should exercise caution, too. Reporters and analysts should exhibit restraint and resist knee-jerk judgments and speculation. Being right matters more than being first.

We also believe the public should reward news organizations that exhibit these values.

The last days before an election are always tense. Election Day will no doubt be a stressful day, too. As we await returns, patience is a virtue that will serve us well.

It also doesn’t hurt to remember that we are all Americans; that this will be true no matter who wins. It is what holds us together. It is true today. It will be true on Tuesday. It will be true the day after Tuesday - and for however long it takes to draw the 2020 election to a close.

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Fort Dodge Messenger. Oct. 30, 2020

Low state unemployment figure is positive sign

Iowa’s rate is much lower than rest of the nation

The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has been reflected in a series of discouraging statistics.

But Iowa recently got a bit of good news: The state’s unemployment rate has dropped and is well below the national figure.

According to Iowa Workforce Development, the state’s unemployment rate for September was 4.7 percent. That was down from 6 percent in August.

Meanwhile, the national unemployment rate for September was 7.9 percent.

Clearly, things are starting to look up in Iowa. The drop in the unemployment rate tells us that people who lost their jobs in the darkest days of the pandemic last spring are getting back to work.

There was an increase of 7,300 non-farm jobs in September, according to Iowa Workforce Development. The leisure and hospitality sector led the way with 4,100 jobs, with most of those in eating and drinking establishments. That means the cooks and servers who lost their jobs when restaurants closed are now coming back to work.

The manufacturing sector did well also, adding 2,100 jobs in the month.

We must acknowledge that even with the unemployment rate dropping to 4.7 percent, there are still too many hard-working Iowans that need a job.

But the release of this latest unemployment figure offers hope that better times are coming.

We urge leaders in the private and public sectors to work together to get our economy out of the COVID-19 induced doldrums and back into a growth pattern that will benefit everyone.

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