Iowa Lawmakers Grant Emergency Powers To Cope With Crush Of Mail-in Ballots

DES MOINES — Lawmakers approved emergency authority Friday allowing election officials to get a leg up in coping with an expected crush of absentee ballots for the Nov. 3 election.Expecting many more voters than usual to cast ballots absentee rather than go in-person to the polls during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Legislative Council granted Republican Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate the authority to establish a procedure for election officials around the state to begin preparing absentee ballots for counting early.Members of the Legislative Council — a Statehouse steering committee when the Iowa Legislature is not in session — voted 24-0 to provide the extraordinary powers to Pate in his capacity as the state election commissioner.