Legislature restricts voting with election bill

To the Editor,

     Why is the Iowa Legislature rushing to change voting laws after a record number of Iowans voted in the November 2020 General Election?

     The Republican Secretary of State, Paul Pate, even stated, “Record turnout during a pandemic is an amazing achievement and overall, the process went very smoothly in Iowa.”

     Why cut the number of early voting days and the number of days to request a vote-by-mail ballot? Why limit the county auditors’ ability to send absentee ballot applications to voters who request them? Why make it easier to remove people from the voting rolls? Why only allow one ballot drop box per county, that must be located inside the auditor’s office?

     Do these changes uphold Iowa’s state motto: “Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain?”

     We already have checks in place to prevent voter fraud. Those rules are managed by the Iowa Secretary of State and county auditors. Do you trust them to do their jobs?

     When we further restrict when and how people can vote, we limit who can cast their vote. I want your vote to be counted and your voice to be heard. I want my vote to be counted. Eligible voters should be allowed to vote without undue restrictions.

     Our state and county election officials successfully managed an election during a pandemic with the highest number of voters in a general election. Why fix what isn’t broken?

Jane Lawrence

Monticello, Iowa