Iowa Primary 2018: A campaign texted voters the wrong polling information, but officials won't say which one it was

Iowa's top election official said a campaign appeared to be responsible for texting voters incorrect information about polling places.

But Secretary of State Paul Pate wouldn't identify the campaign, telling reporters Tuesday afternoon there seemed to be "nothing malicious" about the text messages.

Voters reported the texts to auditors in Black Hawk, Johnson, Linn, Polk and Winneshiek counties, Pate said. He was unsure how many voters received them.

The text messages were sent from a toll-free number, which could not be independently tracked to its source.

"I think it’s under control," Pate said, adding that he wouldn't comment further until the details were verified.

Iowa primary election: Full results, coverage from Election Day 2018

The texts came on top of Iowa's first primary election under its new voter ID law.

The primary is a "soft launch" in which officials asked voters for identification but let them cast provisional ballots if they had none with them.

Tuesday's votes determined who will run against Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, as well as Republican U.S. Reps. David Young, Rod Blum and Steve King.

Results:

Pate, a Republican who is running for re-election, spoke at a press conference in a basement room of the Hoover Office Building in Des Moines, which is home to the state’s information security operation.

Pate was accompanied by a top federal official from the Department of Human Security, Chris Krebs. They both stressed efforts to prevent the kind of online interference Russian officials attempted during the 2016 presidential election.

Krebs said federal, state and local officials are on alert for attempts to hack into computerized election systems.

“Make no mistake, what Russia attempted in the 2016 elections was unprecedented and unacceptable,” Krebs said, adding that the country's voting system is secure. “We have to communicate to the voting public that when they cast their vote, it’s going to be counted and counted correctly."

Pate noted that in Iowa, all votes are still done with paper ballots.

“We don’t do it on the internet. We don’t do it through email. So there’s nobody in Moscow, Russia, who’s changing or voting for you,” he said. “… I want Iowans to be confident and assured of that.”

Voter Alan Oldfield of Center Point said Tuesday he was glad his vote was cast on a paper ballot, because it offered protection from a snafu.

When Oldfield put his ballot in a scanner, the machine spit it out. A poll worker said the machine was doing that with Democratic ballots for reasons unknown. The poll worker put his ballot in a locked box, and promised it would be counted later.

"I don't want to pretend there was a big conspiracy here, but it was a little disconcerting," Oldfield said. "They do have a paper copy of my ballot. It's better than being off in the ether."

Later Tuesday, Deputy Linn County Auditor Becky Stonawski explained that poll workers were given incorrect ballots for the precinct, which is why the scanner rejected them. The only difference between the incorrect and correct ballots was an uncontested Iowa House race, so there was no practical impact from the 16 mixed-up ballots.

Stonawski said a bipartisan group of officials transcribed the incorrect ballots to correct ones, so the votes still counted the way voters intended.

Pate said Iowans seem to be adjusting well to new rules on showing identification at the polls. The change was controversial, but it didn't seem to be causing major disruptions, he said.

“No one gets turned away if they don’t have their ID. They will simply sign their signature and they’ll get to vote.”

That will change in 2019 when identification will be required.

Polk County Auditor Michael Fitzgerald said there were “small hiccups” involving people frustrated with some of the provisions of the new voter ID law. But — as in Linn County — nobody had been prevented from voting, he said.

Multiple residents declined to show ID in Johnson County, which County Auditor Travis Weipert believed was a political stand against the new law. No residents were prohibited from voting because of the "soft" transition Iowa has implemented.

But a few voters sent Weipert emails, which he forwarded to the county's state legislators.

"I explained to them this is not something I personally supported," Weipert said of Iowa's voter ID law. "As I told them, at the end of the day I'm here to uphold the laws of the state of Iowa when it comes to voting, and there's nothing I can do about it."

The reaction to the new law was less dramatic in Dallas County, where license scanners have been offered — but not required — for voters to use in previous elections to assist check-ins, said Julia Helm, the county's auditor.

Helm believes the previous use of the devices helped her county transition to the new voter ID law.

"They look at it as a tool to get through the check-in process sooner," Helm said.

For accurate information on polling places, voters should contact their county auditor or use the polling place search tool.

If you have problems with voting, start by contacting your county auditor's office. If you still need help, call the secretary of state's election office at 515-281-0145 or 888-767-8683. Also tweet @DMRegister or email des-newsonline@dmreg.com, and we'll follow up.

Here is more information about how to vote and inform yourself about the candidates:

Reporter Zach Berg contributed to this story.