Vilsack: Congress must act to ensure everybody can vote safely during the pandemic

Election Day is here in lowa, and voters in all 99 counties will be casting ballots for a better future for the Hawkeye State. Some Iowans will use today to voice their support for investing in rural communities, others for delivering universal broadband, improving health care, or doubling down on clean energy. No matter their cause or candidate, every Iowan has the ability to vote in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis because of the state’s foresight to mail absentee ballot request forms to every one of our registered voters while implementing safety measures at polling places.

It’s already proven to be successful: Before Election Day, over 470,000 Iowans requested to vote absentee, a record number and up from fewer than 10,000 in 2016. Of these 2020 absentee voters, more than half have already returned their ballots. Iowa should be lauded for doing its part to keep citizens voting during a pandemic. Now, it’s time for the representatives and senators representing Iowa in Congress to do their part to ensure every American can do the same this November by supporting funding for vote-by-mail in the next COVID relief package.

Across the country, COVID-19 has posed a once-unimaginable threat to voters: Cast your ballot in person, but risk your life in the process. We’ve seen what can happen when proper precautions aren’t taken; in Wisconsin, dozens of voters and poll workers tested positive for COVID-19 following the state’s April 7 primary. Other states, including Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island have postponed their primaries, which creates a new set of challenges. With the most important presidential election of our lifetime just months away, Americans of all backgrounds and political affiliations are asking their elected officials, “can I safely vote?” The answer to this question has to be a resounding “yes.”

The good news is that leaders in Washington know there are ways to ensure voting is safe and secure in upcoming primaries and in November. It involves expanding vote-by-mail while maintaining both early and day-of in-person voting options, and adopting online and same-day voter registration. But states can’t do this alone — their resources are already depleted because of the emergency response to COVID-19. I know firsthand how difficult it is to balance Iowa’s budget and make tough decisions on where to allocate resources as governor. In the face of an unprecedented pandemic, states clearly need immediate and significant funding from the federal government to protect voters and our elections.

In its first COVID-19 stimulus package, Congress allocated $400 million to protect elections — a limited down payment considering that states need billions for election protection. In Iowa, Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate’s budget for a normal presidential election is $1.5 million. He thinks our primary has already exceeded this cost, while November’s election will cost “substantially more.” There’s no question that, with the pandemic severely drying up the state’s budget, Iowa could use the help.

As negotiations move to the Senate, Iowa’s U.S. senators know that vote-by-mail benefits all voters regardless of party, having both won elections with a large share of absentee ballots. It’s also what their constituents want. A recent Public Policy Polling poll found that 70% of Iowans think every registered voter in the state should be able to vote by mail this fall. Another poll conducted in six Senate battleground states — including Iowa — showed that most voters would react unfavorably if their senator does not support legislation to safeguard voting.

This unprecedented time calls for unprecedented action from our elected officials — bold, fearless leadership has never been more needed to maintain the sanctity of our democracy this November.

Former Iowa governor and U.S. agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack is president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council.