Iowa - Law signed that reduces ability to vote

[Jimmy Higgins]

Now, I'll start off saying the changes don't put steel walls in front of voters, however, the alleged "intent" of the law and the changes introduced by the law don't seem to go hand in hand.

"It's our duty and responsibility to protect the integrity of every election. This legislation strengthens uniformity by providing Iowa's election officials with consistent parameters for Election Day, absentee voting, database maintenance, as well as a clear appeals process for local county auditors," Reynolds said in a statement Monday.

"All of these additional steps promote more transparency and accountability, giving Iowans even greater confidence to cast their ballot."

Changes? (quotes from article)

• "reduce the number of early voting days from 29 days to 20 days"
• "close polling places an hour earlier on Election Day (at 8 p.m. instead of 9 p.m.)"
• "banning officials from sending applications (to seek absentee ballot) without a voter first requesting one"
• "requiring ballots be received by the county before polls close on Election Day"

None of the above increase transparency. None of the above deal with accountability. Nor does this deal with security.

The first one restricts the number of early voting days, the second one reduces the hours one can vote on election day, the third forces people to request an absentee ballot, sets a deadline for when an absentee ballot can be received. The second one seems to be the most arbitrary and unrelated to any of the presumed goals. If you want people to vote in person, you need to shorten lines for voting in person. This legislation does not address that at all.

 

[Shadowy Man]

If Republicans were the ones waiting in long lines then these laws wouldn’t be getting introduced.

It’s obviously undemocratic but as long as the majority of voters agree to it I guess maybe it’s not...

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Attacking absentee is short sighted--2020 was abnormal, absentee normally leans right.

The Democrats need to pass a new Voting Rights Act in Washington to put a stop to this nonsense.