Two dozen Iowans testified at a public hearing Monday afternoon, offering both praise and criticism for proposed rules to implement Iowa’s new voter verification law. Betty Andrews, president of the Iowa/Nebraska NAACP, said she’s worried the rules will make it harder for groups like hers to register new voters. “I have great concern about that,” Andrews said. One proposed rule will remove people from voter registration rolls if they’ve been called to jury duty, but notified the court that they couldn’t serve because they are not a citizen. Connie Schmett of Clive, a long-time GOP activist, praised the move. “We simply can’t allow our laws and our elections to be tainted,” Schmett said.
Kim Hiscox of West Des Moines, an Election Day poll watcher, said she called county officials to report her suspicions that three non-citizens voted in 2016.
“Please do stick with your guns and hold people accountable to prove that they really are citizens of the United States before they are allowed to vote,” Hiscox said.
Others argue becoming a citizen often takes years and a person who declines service on a jury one month may take the oath of citizenship the next. Joe Henry of the League of United Latin American Citizens said the number of registered Latino voters in Iowa has doubled in the past decade.
Full Article: Proposed rules for implementing Iowa’s voter verification law.