Rep. Ras Smith, D-Waterloo, says there's a \"sense of anger and frustration\" after more than a month of waiting.<\/p>\n
DES MOINES, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has pledged to sign an executive order on felon voting rights, ahead of the November election.<\/p>\n
But one Democratic lawmaker in the Iowa House of Representatives tells Local 5 that it's been a waiting game.<\/p>\n
\"We're less than 100 days away from our general election,\" Rep. Ras Smith, D-Waterloo, said. \"I think there's a sense of anger and frustration, frustration because this was promised over 40 days ago from the governor.\"<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the governor's office declined to comment when asked on the status of the executive order.<\/p>\n
State and city officials across Iowa met virtually last week for Gov. Kim Reynolds' FOCUS Committee on Criminal Justice Reform.<\/p>\n
Iowa is the only state in the country that has a lifetime ban on felon voting.<\/p>\n
Smith said if and when a felon voting rights executive order is signed, it should contain no caveats.<\/p>\n
\"It would allow once you release from incarceration for you to be automatically enrolled in a voting pool and able to do your civic duty ... be empowered to exercise your voice,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to Smith, data shows that when people have the right to vote, the rates of recidivism go down.<\/p>\n
\"So I think we have to success set people up for success,\" Smith said. \"Let's remove barriers that inhibit people from participating.\"<\/p>\n
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State representative pushing Gov. Reynolds for progress on felon voting rights executive order - Local 5 - weareiowa.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Rep. Ras Smith, D-Waterloo, says there's a \"sense of anger and frustration\" after more than a month of waiting. DES MOINES, Iowa Gov. Continue reading