Community Corner
Lawsuit Filed Over Election Changes In IA
DES MOINES, Iowa - Iowa's new law that makes several major changes for voters has been met with a
March 10, 2021
DES MOINES, Iowa - Iowa's new law that makes several major changes for voters has been met with a lawsuit from a civil-rights group.
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When Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the bill, it was touted by Republican lawmakers as an election-integrity measure that, among other things, reduces early voting from 29 days to 20. It comes in light of the national rhetoric from far-right groups that continue to claim widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
Joe Enriquez Henry, state political director for the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa, said the lack of fraud has been well-established, including in Iowa. He said he's convinced these changes were made for another reason.
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"It is not voter security, it is voter suppression," he said. "It is making it harder for us to utilize our right to vote."
His group, LULAC, contends that constitutional right is being violated with the new law, and has filed a lawsuit in Polk County.
Backers of the changes have said some of Iowa's county auditors handled absentee voting differently last year, prompting greater need for uniformity. However, opponents counter that that was to be expected because of the pandemic, and it did not result in fraud.
Other voting-rights advocates have said this plan and similar restrictions being pushed in other states are a response to the outcome of the presidential election. Henry argued that Iowa's process has worked just fine, and said he thinks it's the deeply divided political climate that changed the minds of certain lawmakers.
"These restrictions did not exist 20 years ago, 30 years ago," he said.
He said restricting absentee voting will make it harder for younger Latinos, or anyone who lacks transportation, to vote. Many county auditors also have expressed opposition to the new law.
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Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
This story was originally published by Public News Service. For more information, visit publicnewsservice.org.