IA: Secretary of state faces scrutiny from lawmakers and public

[rurallib]

http://watchdog.org/56015/ia-soshearing/

DES MOINES – Iowa’s top election official told lawmakers Tuesday his office went out of its way to protect voter rights when enacting emergency rules to remove noncitizens from the state’s list of registered voters.

Secretary of State Matt Schultz told the Legislature’s Administrative Rules Committee he took extra steps — such as providing hearings for noncitizens on voter rolls and checking their status by using an up-to-date federal immigration database — to ensure against falsely accusing people of voter fraud. In no way was his office targeting specific minorities, he told lawmakers.
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Lawmakers and seven members of the public spent more than an hour questioning the rules Schultz, a Republican, quietly enacted in July, with some saying his directive was too vague, pushed through too quickly without public input. It also comes after the 70-day deadline set in Iowa law to remove individuals from voter-registration lists.
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Wonder if anyone asked him how many people named Smith or Jones or Schultz were on his private lists?