Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an executive order that will restore voting rights to most felons who have served their sentences.
Reynolds, a Republican, fulfilled a promise made to Black Lives Matter protesters in June that she would restore voting rights to those who had completed their sentences. She said that felon disenfranchisement disproportionately affects black voters.
“As we work to address issues of racial disparities, we cannot ignore how negatively and significantly the current process has impacted the lives of so many Iowans of color,” Reynolds said.
Iowa was the only state to strip felons of their voting rights for life. Reynolds’s executive order allows for most felons to have their voting rights restored on the completion of their sentence. Those who have completed their sentences do not have to complete restitution payments to victims of their crimes to have their rights restored, as is required in some states.
Those who were convicted of homicide or severe sex crimes are not included in Reynolds’s executive order and will have to petition the governor to have their voting rights restored. Reynolds celebrated the change but said that the state would need to pass a constitutional amendment to make it permanent beyond her tenure in office.
