Iowa Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Voting Rights for Felons

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Convicted felons in Iowa may be automatically stripped of their voting rights for life unless those rights are restored by the governor, a divided Iowa Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The 4-3 decision permanently disenfranchises thousands of former offenders and upholds Iowa's status as one of the most restrictive states for voting by felons.

Democrats and civil-liberties advocates expressed disappointment in a court known for its 2009 ruling legalizing gay marriage and other progressive decisions.

"This ruling means that Iowa will continue to serve as a notorious outlier when it comes to restricting people's right to vote," said Julie Ebenstein, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/court-upholds-iowas-ban-voting-rights-felons-40246397

---

By RYAN J. FOLEY, ASSOCIATED PRESS IOWA CITY, Iowa — Jun 30, 2016, 12:57 PM ET

[rurallib]

1. the 2009 Iowa Supreme Court and today's ISC are entirely different

not sure if I remember this correctly, but I believe 2 of the 2009 justices lost retention votes. Think at least one retired since then, thus giving governor for life Terry Branstad 3 of the seven seats to replace.

Looked it up and Branstad has appointed 4 of the 7 justices since he returned as governor. Those 4 were the ones that voted to restrict voting rights.

To tie this court to the one that legalized gay marriage is misleading. Doubt very much that gay marriage would have passed this court.
Elections do have consequences

[Igel]

2. This is just how most states did it for a long time.

That included Virginia until recently. Oddly, in all the restoration of rights, 2A rights are always kept aside. Special forms, even if your conviction was non-violent.


Form: https://governor.iowa.gov/sites/default/files/documents/New%20Voting%20Rights%20Application_0.pdf

There's a $15 fee (per last name) for the criminal history check. Don't know about the proof of payment business for court fees.

In most places it was pro forma and very, very few applications were rejected--and those because the ex convict just didn't meet the requirements. You'll notice that the requirements are fairly few.