A proposed Iowa constitutional amendment restoring felon voting rights took a step forward recently, though it still has a long road ahead.

State Senator Jake Chapman, (R) District 10, says the Senate approved legislation that clarifies an issue that has kept the amendment in their Chamber since last year. “In the Senate, we passed a bill that will go over to the House that addresses that specific language. So we’re trying to identify what it really means to ‘discharge your sentence.’ And so in the Iowa Senate we proposed language that if you have been convicted of a felony, if you have paid your restitution to victims and so long as you weren’t convicted of murder or sexual assault, then you would have automatic restoration of your voting rights.”

Chapman says the House will need to take up the bill quickly if they want any further action on the constitutional amendment this session. The alternative would be to wait at least another two years, because amendments must pass through two consecutive general assemblies and be ratified by voters. Restoring felon voting was laid out as a priority of Governor Kim Reynolds at the start of the current general assembly in 2019. The bill passed through the House with bipartisan support last year.

To learn more about this and other topics involving the current legislative session, click the link below to listen to the recent Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program with Chapman.

https://www.raccoonvalleyradio.com/2020/03/09/lets-talk-dallas-county-3-9-2020-jake-chapman/