Dear Republican Party of Iowa

Thank you for your thoughtful and kind flyer of last week, with the attached absentee ballots. As you know, I am out of town early-November during voting and make good use of these ballots.

In the future, you may wish to review the guidelines on the Identity Theft website of the Federal Trade Commission. They list a number of suggestions to avoid being the victim of identity theft, including carefully protecting your date of birth, drivers license number, and social security number. I would think that an absentee ballot postcard, with all of this required-voter information prominently displayed as it traverses our venerable postal system, would probably not meet with their approval.

Sincerely, C

Comments

[Jim Fenton]

I notice that the form says, "State of Iowa Official Absentee Ballot Request Form". If you go to your local Post Office, is the form you get there also a postcard, or is that merely the Republican instantiation of the form?

FDIC is having some seminars on identity theft (http://www.fdic.gov/news/conferences/index.html) but unfortunately the next ones are in Florida and Arizona. Maybe someone should suggest that they're needed in Iowa.

[Christian Renaud]

Jim, Interestingly enough, Iowa doesn't have absentee ballots at the post office, unlike California. You have to send a request form to the county Elections office in order to have them mail you your numbered ballot. I suspect that cuts down on 'the dead guy vote' problem we have/had in California.

Painful yet trackable.