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August 6, 2020

Iowa Restores Voting Rights to Formerly Incarcerated People Convicted of Felonies
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Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds on Wednesday restored the voting
rights of tens of thousands of formerly incarcerated people with felony
convictions, with exceptions for people convicted of murder and other
violent crimes. Iowa is the latest U.S. state to overturn felony
disenfranchisement laws. Florida voters approved a ballot measure in
2018 restoring voting rights for an estimated 1.4 million ex-prisoners
convicted of felonies, but a bill signed by Republican Governor Ron De
Santis last year requires them to pay court fines and fees before they
can register to vote. The requirement has drawn comparisons to the poll
taxes of the Jim Crow South.