Iowa’s new voting law challenged by civil rights group
DES MOINES, Iowa (KWWL) – A civil rights advocacy group is suing the state over Iowa’s recent electoral law that shortens early term, limits postal voting, and more.
Marc Elias, an attorney for the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa, posted a copy of the lawsuit on Twitter this morning, stating that the law changes “place undue burden on the fundamental right to vote”.
This is the first legal challenge to the law, just one day after Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill.
Read more: Governor Reynolds signs bill to limit early voting
As of Tuesday morning, the lawsuit wasn’t available to Iowa Courts Online, but the copy shared by Elias claims that the new law will “restrict almost every form of voting Iowans uses in 2020”.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate and Attorney General Tom Miller are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The law will cut the state’s postal and personal pre-election period from 29 days to 20 days just four years after Republicans cut it from 40 days. In addition, the deadline for applying for a postal vote will be reduced from 120 days to 70 days before an election.
In addition, the polls will now close earlier on election day. From now on they close at 8 p.m. instead of 9 p.m.
In the course of the bill, the parties were divided on their news about the legislation. Republicans said it was about electoral integrity, while Democrats cited it as an example of voter repression.
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