Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate uses visit to Decorah to defend 2017's Voter ID Law

The Iowa Supreme Court on Thursday will hear arguments about whether portions of 2017 Voter ID Law in Iowa should be in effect for this fall's election.

A lower court in Polk County last month approved a temporary injunction against some provisions of the voter ID law.  Affected was the portion of the Voter ID Law that shortens early voting in Iowa from 40 days before the general election to 29 days before.

Pate told a group in Decorah Tuesday that Iowa would have one of the longest periods for absentee balloting among all states in the country--even if the period is changed to 29 days.  He argued that allowing voters to cast ballots 40 days before an election means many voters cast ballots before they even have ideas of what the candidates stand for.

The injunction also blocked the requirement of an identification number to apply for an absentee ballot.  Pate said 93 percent of eligible voters in Iowa are registered voters and Iowa is one of the top six states in the country for voter turnout, so such requirements would not have a big impact except to insure registrations are handled correctly.