Iowa will keep voter registration system for 2020 elections

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s 14-year-old voter registration system will live to see another presidential election.

The Iowa Secretary of State’s office confirmed Thursday that a long-discussed plan to replace the I-Voters database will not be completed before the 2020 elections.

Spokesman Kevin Hall says the office is still in the information-gathering phase of the project. He says the state plans to solicit information from potential vendors soon and later move forward with a bidding process.

Hall says the project will cost millions and “we owe it to the voters of Iowa to build it responsibly with the future of elections and security in mind.”

Current and former state officials say the I-Voters system is secure and that they’ve taken steps to prevent intrusions. Built in 2005, the system has been updated numerous times and contains Iowa’s 2 million registered voters.

Linn County Auditor Joel Miller, a Democrat, says he worries the system is running on technology that is vulnerable to hackers. He says he’s disappointed by the pace of the replacement project.