Editorials: In face of coronavirus pandemic, Iowa should position itself for a largely remote general election in November | Des Moines Register
Gov. Kim Reynolds has still not signed an executive order restoring voting rights to felons. She did, however, find a pen to sign a bill that could reduce voter turnout. The latest GOP-crafted elections law prevents the Iowa Secretary of State from automatically mailing absentee ballot request forms to registered voters. That means current secretary Paul Pate must now ask the Legislative Council — a Republican-controlled group of politicians — for permission to do for the November general election exactly what he did for the June 2 primary election. Pate, also a Republican, rightly sent absentee ballot request forms (not ballots) to all registered voters in the state. The goal was to protect the public amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The result was record voter turnout in the primary. Pate, like other reasonable people, considered that a good thing. But legislative Republicans apparently don’t want so many Iowans participating in democracy. Perhaps they worry they’ll be voted out of office. So they quickly passed a bill limiting the secretary of state’s authority. What should Pate do now?