Voting is perhaps one of the greatest responsibilities of the people in a prosperous republic. Over the last few years Republicans have taken appropriate action to both safeguard our electoral process as well as promote higher participation. A significant legislative change is the requirement to show a photo ID prior to voting. This was a commonsense piece of legislation to protect the integrity of our electoral process. Additionally, we expanded voting opportunities for younger Iowans. Any individual who will turn 18 before the November general election can participate in our caucus as well as the respective primary.
Now, we have another piece of legislation that I believe only makes sense. Last year, I was made aware of a county auditor in Iowa who attended an election conference in Washington D.C. This auditor learned at the conference that 11 states allow non-citizens to vote in local elections. This auditor sought input from local residents if this is something that should be pursued in Iowa. Recognizing that 11 states allow this, and that these liberal agendas are being discussed in Iowa, we proposed a constitutional amendment that will limit voting rights to only citizens!
SJR2002 passed the Iowa Senate declaring only citizens are permitted to participate in our elections. No Iowan should ever have their vote erased by a non-citizen voting in our elections. The Iowa House of Representatives has passed this resolution out of subcommittee and will hopefully have full floor debate in the very near future.