An Iowa judge this week blocked some provisions of a 2017 voter identification law and required the state to restore its early voting period to 40 days, from 29, for November’s midterm elections. Polk County District Court Judge Karen Romano granted the temporary injunction in an order made public Wednesday. She found that the law, and Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate’s efforts to promote it, “substantially and directly interfere with Iowans’ constitutional rights to vote.” She also found the state had “suggested no real threat to the integrity of Iowa’s voting system” if the law’s requirements were blocked.
“The harm to the registered voters who may become disenfranchised or experience substantial obstacles in voting is greater than any harm to the state,” she wrote in her order.
Secretary of State Paul Pate said the state will appeal the decision to the Iowa Supreme Court “immediately.”
Full Article: Iowa voter ID law: Judge tells state to undo some early voting restrictions for 2018 election.