A bill on its way to the governor’s desk would give Iowa election officials more ways to check the citizenship of registered voters. Senator Ken Rozenboom, a Republican from Oskaloosa, says Iowa needs to update election laws to deal with new challenges.
The bill gives Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate authority to hire a vendor to check the citizenship status of people who’ve registered to vote. Democrats say the bill has major flaws. For example, Senator Matt Black, a Democrat from Johnston, says the bill doesn’t provide enough guidance to precinct workers who may challenge the citizenship status of registered voters trying to cast a ballot on Election Day.
Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner of Iowa City says year after year, Republicans keep changing the rules for Iowa’s election system.
Rozenboom, responding to Democrats’ criticism, says the changes are necessary to maintain trust in Iowa elections.
The bill makes several other election changes. It bans ranked choice voting and makes it harder for third party candidates to run for office. It includes a “sore loser” clause, so candidates who lose in a party primary cannot run as an independent or as a different party’s nominee in the General Election.
