Iowa's legislature isn't making these changes for fairness, for efficiency, or for a better democracy. It's to protect their power and shave the edges off our democracy so they stay in control.
It's unacceptable and we can't stand by and let it happen. RUSH $25 or more right now to help us fight this law and others like it around the country >> [[link removed]]
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Des Moines Register: Iowa is changing when candidates can request a recount — and who conducts them. Here's how. [[link removed]]
John: Last year, Congresswoman Marianette Miller-Meeks won reelection in Iowa by just 0.19 points after a recount—the second-closest House race in the country.
So what have the opponents of voting rights in Iowa's state legislature done? That's right -- they just passed a bill lowering the recount threshold to 0.15 points .
But they made this change across the board, right? To be fair? Of course not. Candidates for local elections and the state legislature can still request a recount if their race is within 1% (or 50 votes). For races for Congress and statewide office -- the most competitive races -- the tally must be within 0.15%.
This is yet another case of opponents of voting rights changing the rules to protect themselves and their power. The law's vote manager claims that this bill was passed to "preserve fairness", while all it really does is protect his political party from potential losses while restricting campaigns from making sure every vote counts.
John, chip $25 or whatever you can today as we fight bills like this around the country and protect our right to be heard in our elections >> [[link removed]]
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Those aren't the only changes -- this new law puts partisan county auditors and their staffs in charge of the recount instead of a board chosen by the campaigns in the race. Want to guess which party controls most of Iowa's county auditor positions? Yes, the one that just passed this bill into law.
Take it from Iowa state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, who has been through two recounts following elections for her Senate seat:
" Currently in our process, the county auditor and their staff, they’re very present, they support the process, they’re very engaged ," she said. " But taking out the candidates’ representatives and the neutral party, putting it on a partisan elected official and the staff who are supervised and employed by them does not make it more fair. "
It's clear that all this new law does is create opportunities for opponents of voting rights to suppress votes before they can be cast and the controlling party to silence votes after the election by having them tossed in a recount -- just like we're seeing in North Carolina with a race still not settled almost 6 months after Election Day.
Help us protect voting rights in Iowa, North Carolina, and beyond with $25 or more today and make every vote count >> [[link removed]]
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Integrity First Voter Action Project is dedicated to expanding ballot access and increasing voter participation across the country.
Since the Supreme Court gutted key provisions in the Voting Rights Act, extreme politicians have taken advantage to pass harsh laws that restrict access to the ballot box. These restrictions particularly affect disadvantaged communities and people of color. It’s our goal to bring awareness to these laws wherever they may crop up and organize voters to take action to ensure the right to vote is available to everyone in their states and communities.
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