Good and bad election bills

There was a lot going on at the Capitol last week!

At CCI, we are constantly working for good government and a part of that is weighing in on how and who can participate in our election system.We want to make sure all eligible voters are able to participate in our electoral system; and want to break down barriers that may keep folks from voting.

At the Capitol last week there were two bills, one making it harder for folks to vote and the other that would open our electoral system to more people.

Secretary of State Matt Schultz’s Voter ID bill (HF 485) was discussed, and passed, the House State Government subcommittee last week with much controversy. The Voter ID bill would require proof of identification to register to vote and vote at the polls.CCI members and other groups such as the ACLU, LULAC, League of Women Voters and AFSME spoke out against the bill. Cherie Mortice, CCI member from Des Moines said, “I don’t see any hard evidence or data supporting the idea that voter fraud is a problem in the state of Iowa and a proposal to spend millions of dollars on a non-existent problem is irresponsible.”CCI members will be at the Capitol and working with our allies to keep this from moving to the Senate.

We also will be pushing for a good bill that would put more people into our electoral system.

As his first executive order, Branstad rescinded felon voting rights in January, 2011.  SF 127 would restore voting rights of formerly incarcerated people once they’ve served their sentence. These folks are work, pay taxes and are members of our society. We believe that once individuals serve their time they should be able to voice their position in society by voting. It’s the right thing to do.