After historic Democratic turnout in last November’s elections, a slew of measures limiting ballot access, particularly for minorities and underrepresented communities, are moving through GOP-dominated state legislatures all across the country, most notably in states like Georgia, Alabama, and Iowa. Civil rights groups are fighting these measures tooth and nail, working to preserve every citizen’s fundamental right to vote. In Iowa, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), representing Iowa’s Latino population, filed a lawsuit over new voting restrictions which would impose undue and unjustified burdens on minority, elderly, and disabled voters.
According to the Brennan Center, 200 bills that would limit ballot access are currently being debated by lawmakers in 43 states. These restrictive bills seek to purge voters from roles, add voter ID requirements, eliminate pathways to voter registration, and limit early and absentee voting, among other measures. Restrictive voting measures have been historically enacted to suppress the votes of minorities and people of color, from the times of Jim Crow South and beyond. Critics have warned that the policies being debated today would, if enacted, disproportionately affect young voters, voters of color, voters of low socioeconomic backgrounds, and disabled voters. These constituencies tend to lean heavily Democratic.
Iowa was one of the first states to pass new voting restrictions after the November elections. The measure, which passed with only Republican votes in the Legislature and was opposed by all Democratic legislators, makes several changes to the state’s voting laws. For example, the law reduces the days during which voters can request and cast their ballots, and shortens the time that polls are open on Election Day. Republican legislators claim that the new rules would guard against voting fraud, echoing the former President’s disproved claims of widespread electoral fraud. They also noted, however, that Iowa has no history of election irregularities and that, in last election’s record turnout, no problems of fraud took place.
A day after Governor Kim Reynolds signed the new measure into law, LULAC filed a lawsuit in a Des Moines state court. The lawsuit claims that the law creates an undue and unjustified burden on the constitutional right to vote, particularly as it relates to minorities, the elderly, and disabled voters in the state, who are more likely to work multiple jobs and lack access to reliable mail services and transportation. Furthermore, the lawsuit argues that none of the provisions in the law will actually make elections more secure nor increase confidence in the electoral process.
LULAC spokesman Joe Henry said in a statement that the group believes that certain provisions in the bill target Hispanic voters who may prefer to vote early due to the aforementioned limitations. He added that the law is a result of the realization that the Latino community is growing, as is its political power, which can pose a threat to the reelection of Republican officials. “Clearly, they’re trying to knock out as many people as possible thinking that they’re going to be able to win future elections. We feel that they’re wrong and of course we also feel that it’s unconstitutional,” he said.