Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and attorneys general from 11 other states have signed onto letter that urges congress to force automakers to install A-M radios in new vehicles.

Major automakers have begun ditching A-M radio access in some models, but Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says Hurricane Helene shows the life-saving power of A-M radio and the people who work in those radio stations. Bird and the other attorneys general say A-M radio stations are the backbone of our nation’s Emergency Alert System and become the primary line of communication when electricity is out and cell phones and land phone lines aren’t working. Bird says congress needs to prioritize A-M radio and pass a bill that ensures A-M radio is standard equipment in all new vehicles.

The attorneys general from the states of Florida and South Carolina that are dealing with Hurricane Helene’s aftermath signed onto the A-M radio pitch, as did attorneys general from Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. Radios were first installed in cars in the 1920s. By 1940, 20 percent of the cars in the U-S had a radio. F-M signals were added to dashboard radios in the 1950s.

County election officials have already run thousands of tests to make sure vote counting machines are working properly for this year’s election. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate — the state commissioner of elections — says EVERY vote tabulator undergoes an accuracy test before each election.

The machines are NOT connected to the internet and Pate stresses that every Iowan uses a paper ballot to cast their votes.

Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald says election officials do a lot of checking on the front end, before voting starts.

The precincts are randomly selected by the secretary of state. Local election officials will be asked to do a re-count for one local race as well the presidential race.