Editorial: Legislature should follow up by moving forward a constitutional amendment that guarantees voting rights to all residents who are not incarcerated, regardless of their criminal history

Kudos to Gov. Kim Reynolds for signing an executive order restoring voting rights to many Iowans with felony convictions.

The people of this state should be proud of her.

They should thank her.

They should recognize she stepped up and took action after the GOP-controlled Iowa Legislature refused to move forward a constitutional amendment to restore felon voting rights.

Iowa ultimately needs a clean, simple constitutional amendment. A persons right to cast a ballot should not depend on who resides in the governors office. Former Gov. Tom Vilsack used an executive order to restore felon voting rights in 2005 before former Gov. Terry Branstad rescinded the order in 2011.

The way to avoid the flip-flopping, politicized and confusing policy changes is by amending the state constitution.

Starting that process should be a priority In the next legislative session.

So should repealing a new law that mucks up any future constitutional amendment by requiring felons to repay restitution before rights are restored. That amounts to a poll tax.

Reynolds' executive order does not include a stipulation requiring repayment of crime-related debt. She was right to craft the order that way, which required political courage to resist pressure from some members of her party.

The bottom line: Every Iowan who is not incarcerated should be able to vote.

People who are free to live and work in our democracy should be free to participate in our democracy. Criminal history should not prevent anyone from having a voice. Voting helps to encourage civic engagement and rehabilitation, which should be the goal of all leaders.

"It boils down to our belief in redemption and second chances," said Reynolds at the executive order signing Wednesday.

Unfortunately, her order is not blanket. Voting rights restoration will not be automatic for everyone. Probation, parole and special sentences associated with sex offenses need to be completed first. The order does not apply to people convicted of murder, manslaughter and other offenses listed in Iowa Code 707.

Those individuals still will need to seek permission from the governor for restoration.

And they should.

Its only August. Iowans have time to do everything they can to ensure they are able to vote in November. Election officials must quickly get the states felon voter database cleaned up. It is riddled with errors, and the names of people now eligible to vote under this order should be removed.

Until Reynolds acted this week, Iowa shamefully was the only state in the country that permanently banned felons from voting unless they sought and received approval from the governor to have their rights restored. Tens of thousands of Iowans have been disenfranchised. The ban disproportionately affected Black and Latino Iowans, because of their disproportionate incarceration rate.

So the executive order is welcome progress. The Iowa-Nebraska NAACP State Area Conference estimates that it will allow over 40,000 people to vote and run for office and that about 4,000 individuals each year will have their rights automatically restored.

They should immediately register to vote and cast ballots for candidates in November who will move forward a clean constitutional amendment that grants automatic restoration of voting rights for all felons when they are released from prison.

Des Moines Register

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Reynolds executive order on voting is progress - Boone News-Republican