Issue Position: Restoring Voting Rights to Felons

Issue Position

In 2011, when Matt Schultz took over as Secretary of State he convinced Governor Terry Branstad to rescind a previous executive order which restored the voting rights of felons who had served their time and paid for their crime. When Branstad rescinded the executive order, Iowa became one of only five states to require felons who have paid for their crimes and had served their time to petition the Governor to have their voting rights restored. While the topic of restoring voting rights to felons is often ignored and not popular it should be discussed in Iowa.

While there has been an attempt to pass voter photo ID laws in Iowa and the issue gets much attention about how many Iowans would be disenfranchised, the major issue that often gets overlooked is the voting rights of felons in our state. Our voting laws in Iowa, since Branstad rescinded Vilsack's executive order, have disenfranchised tens of thousands of hard working Iowans who are trying desperately to rejoin society. One of the ways people become part of society is to take part in their right guaranteed by the Constitution to get involved in government through the wonderful election process we have in America. I can certainly think of worse things people could do than to take part in our government. During the 2010 campaign, a man walked up to
me, shook my hand, and said, "Jake, I support you, but I can't vote for you because I am a
felon." This man wanted to be a responsible citizen and participate in society.
Unfortunately, he still cannot fully act as a citizen because some of our elected officials have not learned the benefits and importance of forgiveness.

Since Governor Branstad rescinded the executive order, Branstad has restored voting rights to fewer than 50 Iowans while over 25,000 Iowans who have paid for their crimes are currently denied the right to vote. Any person who has been convicted of a felony should receive their right to vote back as soon as their sentence and probation have been completed, with the exception only for those convicted of voter fraud.

As Secretary of State, Iowans can count on me to be an advocate for restoring the rights of people who have long paid for their crimes and are working hard to become part of society to make a positive impact in our communities. One of the fundamental ways we do that as Americans is through voting and to not support that basic right is a slap in the face of our great state which has a motto of "our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain".

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