DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds made a commitment earlier this month that she would process the backlog of applications from Iowa felons who want to get their voting rights restored. On Friday, her team notified the press that the office cleared the backlog of applications.
According to the governor’s team, she has reviewed and approved over 400 applications in the month of January alone. Thousands of Iowa felons are unable to vote because of a lifetime ban. Reynolds has made it a priority of her administration to change the Iowa Constitution and automatically restore an Iowa felon’s right to vote. That proposal passed through the Iowa House in a bipartisan effort. It stalled in the Senate, and starts its journey there for the 2020 legislative session.
The Iowa Secretary of State’s office announced it wants to start taking steps to verify the state’s felon database.