Gov. Kim Reynolds told reporters Tuesday that she will sign an executive order restoring voting rights to people with past felony convictions, a move that will address Iowa’s status as the last state in the country with a lifetime ban on felon voting.
“We’re working on that right now, sitting down with various groups, listening to what they think is important, what is contained in that executive order,” Reynolds told Radio Iowa in Osage on Tuesday morning, “and then I’ve got my legal team working on it.”
Iowa is the only state in the country that bans all felons from voting unless they apply individually to the governor’s office to have their rights restored. More than 60,000 Iowans, including nearly one in 10 African American adults, are barred from voting in the state due to a prior felony conviction.