Iowa Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Amendment (2022)
| Iowa Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Suffrage | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Iowa Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Amendment, also known as House Joint Resolution 14, was not placed on the ballot in Iowa as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.[1]
The ballot measure would have restored the right to vote for most people with prior felony convictions upon completion of their sentences. As of 2019, to regain the right to vote, felons must apply with the Office of the Governor. Under the state's constitution, the Governor had the discretion to restore voting rights or not.[1][2]
Text of measure
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article II, Iowa Constitution
The measure would have amended section 5 of Article II of the state constitution. The following underlined text would have been added and struck-through text would have been deleted:[1]
|
Sec 5. Disqualified persons. A person adjudged mentally incompetent to vote or a person convicted of any |
Support
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R) proposed the amendment in her 2019 Condition of the State address. In a statement, Reynolds said, "Today’s strong bipartisan vote is a victory for Iowans who deserve a second chance. There’s a broad coalition of supporters behind this constitutional amendment, and I will continue working with members of the Iowa Senate to move the process forward, allowing Iowans a vote on this important issue."[4]
Polls
A poll of 803 Iowa adults by Selzer & Co. conducted between February 10 and February 13, 2019, found that 64 percent favored amending the state constitution "to clarify that convicted felons are automatically eligible again to vote once they have completed their sentences." The other 29 percent of respondents opposed the amendment and seven percent were unsure.[5]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Iowa Constitution
To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a simple majority vote is required in both the Iowa State Senate and the Iowa House of Representatives in two legislative sessions with an election for state legislators in between. Every two years, half of the state senators and all of the members of the state House are up for election.[1]
2019-2020 legislative session
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R) proposed the amendment in her 2019 Condition of the State address. This amendment was introduced as House Joint Resolution 14. It passed in a vote of 95-2 with three not voting on March 28, 2019. The measure failed to make it out of Senate Judiciary Committee on April 4, 2019.[1][6]
| Vote in the Iowa House of Representatives | |||
| Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber in two sessions | |||
Number of yes votes required: 51  | |||
| Yes | No | Not voting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 95 | 2 | 3 |
| Total percent | 95.00% | 2.00% | 3.00% |
| Democrat | 43 | 0 | 3 |
| Republican | 52 | 2 | 0 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Iowa State Legislature, "House Joint Resolution 14," accessed April 1, 2019
- ↑ Brennan Center, "Voting Rights Restoration Efforts in Iowa," accessed April 1, 2019
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Des Moines Register, "Iowa House overwhelmingly passes felon voting rights constitutional amendment," accessed April 1, 2019
- ↑ Des Moines Register, "Iowa Poll: Nearly two-thirds of Iowans say felons should regain voting rights after completing sentences," accessed April 1, 2019
- ↑ We Are Iowa, "Felon voting rights bill won't advance in the Iowa Senate," accessed April 4, 2019
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