House passes bill restoring felons’ voting rights, with a catch
The Iowa House of Representatives has passed legislation which will automatically restore voting rights to felons who have completed their sentences. Currently, people convicted of felonies must appeal to and have their voting rights restored by the governor. This change will not take effect until it is also approved by Iowa voters in a statewide ballot question.Visit the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier to learn more.Image credit: Jason Riedy (CC BY 2.0) Voter Education Week Young adults will be the nation’s largest voting bloc in the upcoming
Democrats Reviewing Whether To Overturn A Certified Iowa U.S. House Election
The House Administration Committee is reviewing a challenge brought by defeated Iowa Democrat Rita Hart against freshman Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who won the race by just six votes. In a legal brief sent to the Committee, the attorneys for Rep. Miller-Meeks argue that since their client has the certification of election under Iowa law, the matter is closed. The attorneys for Hart argue that 22 ballots which were tossed out should have been counted, which would have resulted in their client winning the
Echoing Trump claims about ‘ballot harvesting,’ Florida Republicans cite it as reason to make mail voting more difficult
Despite little to no evidence of wrongdoing, Florida Republicans are pressing ahead with their effort to restrict ballot harvesting, the act of collecting and submitting someone else’s mail ballot. The campaign against ballot harvesting picked up momentum following former President Trump’s unfounded insistence that the practice was “rampant with fraud.” Democrats and voting rights advocates argue that restricting the practice will make it difficult for older, poor, and minority voters to have their ballots cast and counted.Visit the South Florida Sun Sentinel to learn
U.S. intelligence agencies say Russia, Iran were most involved in 2020 election interference
U.S. intelligence agencies have released a report claiming that Russia and Iran engaged in disinformation campaigns in order to interfere with the 2020 election. In the case of Russia, this involved attempting to denigrate Joe Biden by associating him and his family with questionable ties to Ukraine. The report also claimed that China did not directly participate in election interference, though a dissenting opinion in the report claims that China did take some steps to undermine President Trump’s reelection prospects. Visit Yahoo News to learn
Schumer says ‘everything is on the table’ to pass voting rights legislation in Senate
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has made it clear that Senate Democrats will take “appropriate action” if Senate Republicans choose to block their signature voting rights bill, the For the People Act. Specifically, this may involve changing the rules around the filibuster, which requires 60 votes in order to advance most legislation. The House of Representatives passed the For the People Act on March 3, and the Senate Rules Committee is set to begin consideration of the bill on March 24. The For