Iowa election bill heads to the Governor’s desk

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) -A bill that would significantly change Iowa’s election laws is headed to Governor Reynolds. The Iowa Senate passed Senate File 413 on Tuesday and the Iowa House approved the bill Wednesday night in a vote along party lines.

Democrats opposing the bill believe it makes it harder for people to vote. Meanwhile, republicans believe the bill is necessary for Iowans to feel confident that elections are secure.

Some of the changes the bill brings include cutting down the early voting period by 9 days, requiring most mail in ballots be received by the time polls close on election day, as well as requiring polls to be closed by 8 p.m. instead of 9.

Republican leaders met this morning, in the meeting Speaker Pat Grassley said the bill has nothing to do with election fraud claims. Instead he says it’s about making sure Iowans feel secure with the election process.

“We’ve had record turnout after we’ve passed voter ID, where we passed the bar code security on absentee voting. I think, I think Iowans want us to be doing these things to make sure there is confidence in the elections, I don’t think it’s something we should shy away from,” Speaker Grassley added.

However, the democratic leaders who met this afternoon do believe the bill stems from election fraud claims.

“There’s this big lie of election fraud that occurred, across the country and maybe even here in Iowa and it’s a lie. It’s legislation based on false premise,” Rep. Todd Prichard said in the meeting.

Democrats say Iowa law makers should be focused on pandemic relief, instead of bills like this one. They’re strongly encouraging Governor Reynolds not to sign it into law.

Governor Reynolds was asked for her stance on the bill during a news conference this morning.

“The fact of the matter is there are Americans across the state that have some concerns about what happened in this last elections and again I think it’s imperative that it’s not just understood but that they feel there is integrity in the election process, Reynolds told reporters.

She did not say whether she would sign the bill, Governor Reynolds said she wants to take a look the legislation that passed before making that decision.

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