Iowa Republican lawmakers have advanced a bill that would make numerous changes to the state’s election laws, including banning absentee ballot drop boxes and making it harder to challenge Donald Trump’s eligibility to appear on the ballot.
The bill is the latest effort by the Iowa Legislature’s Republican majority to put more restrictions on absentee voting, continuing a trend they started in 2017.
Amy Campbell, a lobbyist for League of Women Voters and AARP Iowa, said the groups oppose the bill because it would make it very difficult for older Iowans and people with disabilities to return their ballots. She also said it has become “almost a constant job” to educate people about new voting rules and deadlines.
“The continual changes that happen every two years are adding to a lot of confusion for voters,” Campbell said. “And I would just ask that maybe we just pause for a little while and let some of the laws that have been passed every two years to settle in.”
Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, said he does not think the bill would confuse voters.
“I take any statement like that to mean that the voters are stupid,” he said. “And I disagree with that. I think that they can figure it out, and that rule changes to ensure that election integrity is strong are well worth any small inconvenience.”
Kaufmann said his goal is to “maintain the highest level of election integrity.” He said he does not believe Iowa has widespread voter fraud.
Under the bill, absentee ballots would have to be received by the county auditor by the close of business on the day before Election Day to be counted, which is one day earlier than current law.
County election officials could start mailing absentee ballots to Iowans who requested them 22 days before Election Day instead of the current 20 days before Election Day. In-person early voting would still begin 20 days in advance.
Iowa’s early voting period used to start 40 days before Election Day, and absentee ballots just had to be mailed by the day before Election Day to be counted.
Adams County Auditor Becky Bissell, a Republican, is president of the Iowa State Association of County Auditors. She said county election officials oppose the bill because it would make unnecessary changes, make it harder to vote, and put a financial burden on counties.
The ban on ballot drop boxes was just one proposal she highlighted.
“Drop boxes provide an opportunity for voters to ensure that their vote is going to be counted regardless of external factors such as the postal service,” Bissell said.
She said they also provide cost savings, as counties don’t have to pay for return postage when voters return their ballots via drop box instead of the mail.
The bill would also require absentee voters to include their driver’s license or voter identification numbers when returning their ballots. Current law only requires voters to provide those numbers when they submit a request for a ballot. It would also set new requirements for absentee ballot envelopes.
Bill would restrict ballot objections for federal candidates
The bill would only allow Iowans to object to a candidate for federal office appearing on the ballot if the objection is related to their nominating petition, or the U.S. Constitution’s requirements for residency, age and citizenship.
This would prohibit Iowa-based ballot challenges like the one in Colorado, where that state’s Supreme Court decided Trump should not be on the Republican primary ballot because he allegedly participated in an insurrection. The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to issue a ruling in the dispute.
The bill would also not allow the state to disqualify a candidate for federal office because of a felony conviction. Felons are already legally allowed to run for president under the U.S. Constitution.
But Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City, said Iowans should take note that someone who worked for the Trump campaign is trying to pass a law to help Trump.
“It takes quite a lot of nerve to call a bill an election integrity bill, when the point of the bill is to let felons run for office, and particularly someone like Donald Trump, who has so little integrity,” Zabner said.
Kaufmann worked as a senior adviser for Trump’s presidential campaign in Iowa. But he said the bill “has nothing to do with Donald Trump.”
“It is not our job to decide who is on the ballot,” Kaufmann said. “It is the voters’ job. And it’s arrogant, frankly, for us to think that we should overrule what they choose do, whether that’s a D, an R, an Independent, Libertarian, the Green Party or anyone else for that matter.”
The bill would also explicitly ban ranked choice voting, which is not currently used in Iowa.
Democratic representatives walked out of the House subcommittee hearing on the bill Tuesday as Kaufmann was giving closing remarks. He and Rep. Amy Nielsen, D-North Liberty, had a heated discussion about the impact of voting restrictions.
Nielsen had asked Kaufmann to stop interrupting her. Kaufmann said he was not interrupting, and that it was his meeting and not Nielsen’s to run.
“That wasn’t performative,” Nielsen said later. “I’m not going to sit there and waste my time if the chair of the committee is going to dismiss me like that.”
Kaufmann said that shows Democrats are not treating the bill seriously.
“If they can’t stay in the room like an adult and have a conversation, then good riddance,” he said.
