Voting Rights Restoration Efforts in Iowa
Legal analysis and executive advocacy
Under the Iowa Constitution, people convicted of felonies are permanently disenfranchised. Brennan Center research established that the process for amending this provision would be long and difficult. We therefore did additional research on executive clemency under the Iowa Constitution to clarify the Governor’s power to restore voting rights.
To mark Independence Day on July 4, 2005, the Governor issued an executive order restoring voting rights to the approximately 80,000 people who had completed felony sentences but remained disenfranchised. The order also provides for ongoing restorations as more people complete their sentences.
Litigation
In the summer of 2005, when a county attorney in Iowa challenged the Governor’s power to issue the executive order in Allison v. Vilsack, the Center drafted an amicus brief that focused on cases supporting broad clemency powers in an array of states. The state court upheld the Governor’s authority to restore voting rights en masse. The Brennan Center applauded that decision in a press release.