Iowa voter registration form doesn't reflect restoration

[RandySF]

Just over two weeks before early voting begins in Iowa, the state has not yet updated its voter registration form to reflect an August executive order that automatically granted voting rights to thousands of Iowa felons who have completed their sentences.

Some voting rights advocates say the form, which still instructs felons to petition the governor for restoration of their voting rights, is confusing for the newly re-enfranchised people they're trying to register to vote.

"Having that form not read correctly is a deterrent because people are still uncomfortable," said Betty Andrews, president of the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP, which has been pushing the state to update the form for more than a month.

Iowa's voter registration form was last revised in November 2018. As currently formatted, a paragraph at the top of the form says you "are not qualified to vote if you have been convicted of a felony and have not received a restoration of voting rights." The form then states, "You may apply to the Governor to restore your voting rights."



https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2020/09/19/iowas-voter-registration-form-doesnt-reflect-felons-can-now-vote/5825644002/

[SharonClark]

1. Partly caused by Gov Reynold's late decision

to allow former felons to vote and partly because the SOS has no incentive to update the form. The Dems and criminal reform advocates are making it clear when they register people to vote.