Iowa bill, supported by the Republican Party, which aims to restrict access of voting heads to the governor’s table

Iowa bill, supported by the Republican Party, which aims to restrict access of voting heads to the governor’s table

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The bill, presented by a Republican state senator, would specifically reduce the number of early voting days from 29 to 20 days. It would also close polling stations an hour earlier on election day (at 8 pm instead of 9 pm).

The bill also imposes new restrictions on absentee voting, including a ban on officers from submitting applications without a voter requesting it first, and requires that ballots be received by the county before election day closes.

The Republican-controlled House passed the measure Wednesday night in a 57-37 vote by the party. The vote came a day after the Republican-controlled Iowa Senate, where the legislation was introduced, also passed the bill in a party vote.

The project now goes to the table of Reynolds, a Republican.

Democrats in the Chamber of Deputies criticized the measure, noting that it creates barriers to voting that would affect the democratic process.

The bill is part of a larger effort by Republican lawmakers across the country – including the battle states of Georgia and Arizona – to reverse access to voting in the wake of the 2020 elections. The November election saw a record number of early and mailed voters, sparking unfounded allegations of electoral fraud by then President Donald Trump and some of his Republican colleagues, which ultimately led to the deadly uprising on January 6.

“Iowa citizens deserve an election they can trust. One that makes it easy to vote and difficult to cheat. That is exactly what they will have with this legislation,” Iowa City Mayor Pat Grassley said in a statement by and email CNN on Thursday. “Despite the hysteria coming from the left, Iowa will continue to see successful elections with high voter turnout and results they can trust.”

But Democrats noted that the legislation is part of the legislative setback in accessing the vote that is taking place across the country.

“What I don’t see, what I can’t understand is how it is possible to look at the facts of this election and say: ‘OK, everything went well, what is the answer here? We are going to hinder the vote”, Congresswoman Jennifer Konfrst, the leader minority Democrat in the House, he said while urging his Republican colleagues to vote against the bill on Wednesday. “I am frustrated with this bill. I am suspicious of this bill. I am angry with this bill.

Across the country, according to an updated analysis by the liberal Brennan Center for Justice, at least 253 bills were presented this year in 43 state legislatures with provisions that would restrict access to voting – more than six times the number of bills. law for the same time last year.

The minority leader in the House, Deputy Todd Prichard, noted that he believed the bill is based on the false arguments of electoral fraud that continue to cast doubt on the 2020 election.

“This untruth should not be a basis that lowers the volume of people’s voices in this great state of Iowa, in the United States of America. Let that voice be heard, embrace democracy, ”said Prichard.

The project manager, Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, repeatedly countered the Democrats, saying that they were making “false characterizations of this project”.

“This bill has nothing to do with fraud,” said the Republican before the vote. “This bill does not suppress a single vote.”

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