DAVENPORT, Iowa — Just months after Iowa saw its highest voter turnout ever, a new bill has passed in the House and Senate, that would decrease early and absentee voting opportunities in the state.
Of the points within Senate File 413, election officials say the biggest for voters to pay attention to is the change to a voter's registration status to inactive if a voter misses a general election, and the closing of polls an hour earlier on election day. The deadlines for early and absentee voting would be shortened to just 20 days before an election, instead of the current 29. And satellite voting would drastically change.
"Now you're going to have to petition us for any site that you want. And when you petition us, it's for that day, that location, and that precinct, and for 6 hours," said Roxanna Moritz, Scott County Auditor.
She says the bill would limit opportunities for voters to make their voices heard.
"Don't limit them," she argued. "Give them the opportunity to have their voices and their vote count. It doesn't hurt us to allow them more time."
The bill passed in both the House and the Senate in just eight days, and was voted on party lines. Republicans argued it will help prevent voter fraud, while Democrats are calling it voter suppression.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Iowa's Interfaith Alliance opposed the bill, with Pastor Rob Johnson of Second Baptist Church of Ft. Dodge saying, "This is an attack on poor and low-income people. Because those are the individuals who will not have the means or the ends to get their ballots to the polls."
But Republicans, like House Speaker Pat Grassley, are saying the bill will continue Iowa's history of free and fair elections. Grassley released a statement after the bill's passing, remarking:
“Iowans deserve an election that they can trust. One that makes it easy to vote and hard to cheat. That is exactly what they’ll get with this legislation. Despite the hysteria coming from the Left, Iowa will continue to see successful elections with high voter turnout and results they can trust. With this bill, Iowa’s election system will continue to set an example for the rest of the country.”
However, some local Republicans are disagreeing, like Sue Brewer - a lifelong conservative and poll worker here in Scott County.
"There is no way people could vote twice or vote fraudulently," she said. "I believe in the system, I believe it works."
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is expected to sign the bill into law within the next few days.