Matt Schultz (born July 23, 1979) is an American

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician who served as

Iowa Secretary of State The Secretary of State of Iowa is the commissioner of elections of the U.S. state of Iowa. A constitutional officer, the officeholder is elected every four years. The Office of the Secretary of State is divided into four divisions: Elections and ...

Biography

Schultz grew up in

West Des Moines, Iowa West Des Moines is a city in Polk, Dallas, Warren, and Madison counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. A majority of the city is located in Polk County, a minority of the city is located in Dallas County, and small portions extend into Warren and M ...

and graduated from Valley High School,

Brigham Young University–Idaho Brigham Young University–Idaho (BYU–Idaho or BYU–I) is a private college in Rexburg, Idaho. Founded in 1888, the college is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Previously known as Ricks Colleg ...

, the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

, and the

Creighton University School of Law Creighton University School of Law, located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, is a component of the Jesuit Creighton University. According to Creighton's official 2019 ABA-required disclosures, 75% of the Class of 2019 obtained full-time, long-t ...

. He is an

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, and is active in

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church). He served a two-year mission for the church in Argentina. He and his wife, Zola, live in Madison County with their five children.Iowa Secretary of State website
/ref> He was elected to public office in 2005 as a city councilman in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he served for five years.

Iowa Secretary of State

He was elected to the position of Secretary of State in 2010, and was the youngest secretary of state in the country. While in office, Schultz created a new statewide lien registration system and focused on a new voter-ID law. He also worked to ease the voting process for active members of the military from Iowa. On July 20, 2012 Schultz approved two emergency voter fraud rules that would allow him to challenge the registration of voters if their names are similar to names found on state and federal lists of foreign nationals and also approved a rule allowing people to file complaints of voter fraud without oaths via e-mail. In December 2013, it was reported that an investigation by the office of the Secretary of State was passing along 16 cases of voter fraud to local county officials. As of December 17, 2013, five people pleaded guilty to attempted voter fraud, and five other cases were dismissed. On January 22, 2014, Schultz announced charges in nine additional voter fraud cases. Many of the original 16 charges, and all 9 of the later charges were on citizens convicted of felonies whose voting rights had not been restored. State Auditor Mary Mosiman stated that Schultz' use of HAVA (Help American's Vote Act) funds might be in violation of their intended use. Mosiman said that Schultz' may be required to repay the federal grant if asked to do so.

The Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junction ...

on Feb 24, 2014 reported ''more than 80 (cases) have been referred to county attorneys for possible prosecution.'' **Note -- Cases "referred" and prosecutions are two different things.

on May 15, 2014 reported that Iowa Secretary of State, Matt Schultz's voter fraud investigation cost taxpayers $250,000 and resulted in a total of 6 guilty pleas; equalling approximately $42,000 per guilty plea. Schultz initiated the Rock Iowa program which partners with the national Rock the Vote organization to educate high school seniors about the electoral process and encourage them to register to vote.

Photo ID for voters

During his tenure as Iowa Secretary of State, Schultz supported legislation to require photo identification for voters. He said a voter ID requirement was "common sense" and necessary to prevent voter fraud. Iowa Democrats said that he was attempting to disenfranchise voters, and the ACLU of Iowa said that voter fraud is not a problem. Iowa Senate Democrats blocked the legislation, and The Gazette, an eastern Iowa newspaper reported, "Schultz has turned a reasonable, principled position into a political sideshow".

Subsequent career

On January 9, 2014, Schultz announced he would be a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. He ran to represent

Iowa's 3rd congressional district Iowa's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its southwestern quadrant, which roughly consists of an area stretching from Des Moines to the borders with Nebraska and Missouri. From 2013 t ...

, after the announcement by Congressman Tom Latham that he would be retiring from Congress in 2014. He finished third in the primary; receiving less than one fifth of total votes cast, and endorsed would be candidate David Young at convention. He was instead the Republican nominee for Madison County attorney, winning the general election with 61%, defeating incumbent Democrat Julie Bardwell-Forsyth.

References

External links

Matt Schultz for Congress
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schultz, Matt Iowa city council members Secretaries of State of Iowa Latter Day Saints from Iowa American Mormon missionaries in Argentina Brigham Young University–Idaho alumni University of Iowa alumni Creighton University School of Law alumni Iowa Republicans Iowa lawyers Living people 1979 births District attorneys in Iowa