Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has signed a Republican plan to shorten the voting period in Iowa and set up new verification procedures for voters.
The new IOWA law Branstad signed today will shorten the “early” voting window in Iowa from 40 days down to 29. In addition, precinct workers will be required to check a prospective voter’s I-D to confirm the person is eligible to vote. Secretary of State Paul Pate says 95 percent of Iowans have a driver’s license, military I-D or passport that can be used to verify they may vote.
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Pate’s office plans to issue voter I-D cards to the estimated 85-thousand Iowans who do not have one of the other three forms of identification that may be used to vote. Pate plans to mail the new voter I-D cards in bright orange envelopes. The party primaries in June of 2018 will be the first election in which the new voter I-D requirements will be in effect. Pate says some precinct workers will be able to swipe a voter’s license to verify their identity.
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Democrats say the law is designed to make it harder for elderly, disabled and minority Iowans to vote. The head of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa says his group may sue to block implementation of the law.
