During the 2020 election, faith in our nation’s election process went by the wayside, specifically among republicans who felt cheated and wronged.
In response, Iowa is making changes to their state election process to help restore that lost faith.
Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law that will shorten the allotted time to vote both early and on Election Day.
The law, backed by the republican-controlled state legislature, forces the polls to close one hour earlier on Election Day each November, moving the time from 9:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
The law also cuts down early voting from 29 to 20 days.
“It’s our duty and responsibility to protect the integrity of every election,” Reynolds said in a statement. “This legislation strengthens uniformity by providing Iowa’s election officials with consistent parameters for Election Day, absentee voting, database maintenance, as well as other clear appeals processes for local county auditors.”
“All of these additional steps promote more transparency and accountability, giving Iowans even greater confidence to cast their ballot,” she added.
The law will also prevent election officials from sending absentee voting applications to a voter if they do not request one.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding the 2020 presidential election, absentee ballots in the state must now be received before polls close on Election Day, and the ballots must be returned by either a voter, family member, household member or designated caregiver, the Daily Caller reports.
This is just one example of efforts being made by republican lawmakers, both at the state and federal level, to increase election confidence throughout the country.
Iowa Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann applauded the move.
“This is what leadership looks like,” he said.
“I applaud Gov. Reynolds and legislative republicans for showing Iowans that the GOP is listening to their concerns and defending the integrity of our states’ election system,” he added.
“While our election systems were already strong, this bill improves upon the work republicans did in 2017 when they passed Voter ID laws.”
“The 2020 election showed us where shortfalls in our system existed and Iowa republicans created solutions targeted at fixing those shortfalls. Democrat spin is strong and wild, but truth shines through,” he said.
