Iowa Legislature fails to pass amendment to allow felons right to vote during session
Iowa legislative session ended Sunday without passing the amendment to allow felons to vote in the state.
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the amendment last week that would allow felons to vote after serving their time and paying all restitution.
This amendment has been a large initiative of the Des Moines Black Lives Matter group over the past few weeks. After a meeting with Reynolds last week, the BLM group posted on social media that the amendment should not require felons to pay restitution in order to vote.
If the amendment would have been passed this year, it could have voted on by legislature in within the next two years before being put on the ballot for the public's vote. It would be at least 2024 before it could be voted on again. The only way to have the voting rights restored quicker is if Reynolds issues an executive order.
Iowa is the only state that does not allow felons any right to vote.
The ACLU of Iowa responded with the following statement: "Today's turn of events allows Iowa's worst-in-the-nation felony disenfranchisement system to stand—for now. Iowa's disenfranchisement law has been especially devastating to Black communities across Iowa, where one in 10 Black adults cannot vote because of a felony conviction. This means entire communities have a reduced voice in our government and it perpetuates the problems of a deeply flawed criminal justice system. The ACLU of Iowa is committed to ending felony disenfranchisement in our state, and has been working in coalition with our allies toward this day for over a decade. We're not about to give up now."