DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has signed an executive order restoring voting rights to most people with felony convictions who have served their time. Iowa was the last state in the US to make all people with felony convictions apply for clemency and receive an individual order restoring that person’s voting rights. On June 22, 2020, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) wrote a letter to Reynolds urging her to ensure that Iowans are not denied their voting rights due to their inability to pay fines, fees, or restitution associated with their convictions. Iowa Justice Action Network has been organizing and lobbying for an Executive Order and Constitutional Amendment.

“Iowans with past felony convictions have fought hard for years for this victory,” said Blair Bowie, Restore Your Vote Manager at Campaign Legal Center (CLC). “This is a recognition that democracy works best when all citizens can vote without barriers. Ensuring that Americans with past felony convictions who live, work and pay taxes can vote allows them to have a voice and a stake in the future of their communities.”

“As a formerly incarcerated person who just had my rights restored in January, I can tell you that this is vital to a person feeling that they have actually served their time and are a productive, normal member of the community again,” said Iowa Justice Action Network board member, Jacob Shepard. “The Executive Order is so important, but we will continue to fight for a Constitutional Amendment for a permanent fix.”

This summer, CLC and the Iowa Justice Action network have been running a digital outreach campaign for rights restoration in Iowa. The campaign is currently providing direct services by text message to hundreds of people seeking information about their voting rights eligibility. People in all 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico can use CLC’s free public education tool, RestoreYourVote.org to check their status.

At RestoreYourVote.org, visitors answer simple questions about their convictions to determine if they are eligible to vote right now, or eligible to go through the process to restore their right to vote in their state. The website also features the RestoreYourVote.org hotline, which provides callers with direct rights restoration services. Since the launch, the site has nearly 130,000 visitors seeking to learn more about voting rights restoration in their state. In the two years since the launch of RestoreYourVote.org, several states have eased voting restrictions for those with past convictions.

WASHINGTON – Today, President Donald Trump suggested the possibility that the November 3, 2020 presidential election might be delayed, saying on Twitter without evidence that the results of voting in November would be flawed.

Congress by law has set the General Election date as November 3, 2020, and the U.S. Constitution sets the end of the presidential term as noon on January 20, 2021. That is the inauguration date of the next president, which cannot be moved by the President or Congress.

Trevor Potter, president of Campaign Legal Center (CLC), and a former Republican Chairman of the Federal Election Commission, released the following statement:

“The President does not have the authority to delay the election. Federal law mandates that the General Election take place on the first Tuesday of November. Suggesting the possibility of moving the General Election is an extraordinary statement from a sitting President and is sure to create confusion amongst voters about presidential powers in relation to the election. The country has voted in general elections in the middle of a Civil War, two World Wars and the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, not to mention the Great Depression. Delay of the November election would violate both federal law and the Constitution. It is critical that members of Congress from both parties forcefully condemn Trump’s statement. Congress has the responsibility to make sure that the election takes place safely and smoothly, and that requires the Senate to include funding for state election activities in the coronavirus bill they are currently debating so that states can be prepared to handle a surge in mail voting for November. Time is running out to give the states the funding they need to get this right."