Blog for Iowa :: Election Day Registration

As many of you may know, PACG has put out many calls to action on VOICE - Voter Owned Iowa Clean Elections. The passage of VOICE - SF 553 , in the state of Iowa would have a HUGE impact on every issue across the spectrum - the passage of this bill would give the people of Iowa an unprecedented opportunity to take back control of our legislature from the special interest groups that have too often dominated the outcome of policy. There are MANY reasons to pass VOICE - passage of this bill would free-up our legislators from the all consuming cycle of fundraising so they can spend more time working on the actual issues that affect their constituents, and citizens would have more faith in the system and the legislators that represent them. Legislators would no longer be beholden to the special interests that help get them elected. In other states where similar bills were passed, they are seeing a big increase in people running for office than ever before and in Arizona voter turnout has increased by as much as 20%. The passage of VOICE is a win-win for everyone involved... that's why WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW.

The VOICE bill, SF 553, is in an Appropriations sub-committee comprised of Rep. Dave Jacoby (D-chair), Rep. Jo Oldson (D) and Rep. Dwayne Alons (R). It will come up for a vote in that committee either Tuesday (3/27) or Wednesday (3/28). If passed, it then goes to the full committee and becomes "funnel-proof." That means the likelihood for debate on the floor of the House increases. However, we learned on Friday that the Appropriations sub-committee plans to "kill" the bill, at the request of leadership.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

PLEASE make a push to call the committee members and the leadership on MONDAY, urging them to support SF 553. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is a firm supporter of the bill so please call him, thank him for his support and urge him to continue pushing for passage of the bill.

MOST IMPORTANTLY - contact Senator Mike Gronstal in the Senate and Speaker Pat Murphy in the House - urging them to support passage of the bill. We need to make a VERY BIG PUSH in order to make a difference.

VOICE has overwhelming support from citizens and community leaders - we need to remind leadership that people matter more, money matters less.

PLEASE call the Appropriations Sub-Committee members and House & Senate Leaders on MONDAY! - These are only 6 telephone calls that will take up very little of your time -- the small effort required on our part can make a BIG difference for the future of our state! Please refer to the Word document (see attachment) that outlines the general information and primary benefits of the bill, SF 553.

Appropriations Sub-Committee

Rep. Dave Jacoby (D)
House District 30 -- Johnson County
David.Jacoby@legis.state.ia.us
Home Telephone: 319-358-8538

House Switchboard: (515) 281-3221

Rep. Jo Oldson (D)
House District 61 -- Polk County

Jo.Oldson@legis.state.ia.us
Home Telephone: 515-255-2805

House Switchboard: (515) 281-3221

Rod Roberts (R)
Rod.Roberts@legis.state.ia.us
House Switchboard: (515) 281-3221.

Speaker of the HouseRep. Pat Murphy (D)
House District 28 – Dubuque County
Pat.Murphy@legis.state.ia.us
Home Telephone: (563) 582-5922
House Telephone: (515) 281-5566

House Majority Leader
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (D)
House District 67 – Polk County
Kevin.McCarthy@legis.state.ia.us
Home Telephone: (515) 953-5221
House Telephone: (515) 281-7497
(PLEASE THANK HIM FOR HIS SUPPORT!)

Senate Majority Leader
Senator Mike Gronstal (D)
Senate District 50 -- Pottawattamie
michael.gronstal@legis.state.ia.us
Home Telephone: (712) 328-2808
Business Telephone: (515) 281-3901

Take action! Call, your local legislator today! Find out where they stand on the bill, urge them to support it and ask them to urge leadership and committee members to do the same! It's not enough to simply ask them if they support the bill --- if they do, ask them what they are doing to ensure passage of this bill.

House Switchboard to reach all

State Representatives: (515) 281-3221

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!

PACG Staff

James Lee 563-650-3922

Caroline Vernon 563-676-7580

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Sunday, March 11

Enact Election Day Registration in Iowa!

by Sam Garchik on Sun 11 Mar 2007 09:00 AM CDT

Enact Election Day Registration in Iowa!

By ICAN

Antiquated Iowa state law requires people to register 10 days before an election. Just when a race gets interesting, it's too late.   It's time for Iowa to take away the barriers and allow citizens to register to vote on Election Day.

The Iowa Citizen Action Network (ICAN) is currently working with legislative leaders in the House and Senate and with the Iowa Secretary of Stateâ€™s office to promote Election Day Registration (EDR) legislation. EDR is very reasonable voter registration policy, and is currently in effect in two of Iowa's neighboring states, Minnesota and Wisconsin. ICAN has been active in promoting civic engagement for its entire history – registering voters door-to-doorr with its field organizing efforts, and running non-partisan voter mobilization drives. Making voter registration easy and convenient is an effective way to increase civic participation.   Allowing registration on Election Day brings people into the electoral process who are often excluded, like students, renters, and low-income people.

We're asking all members of the State House of Representatives and Senate to publicly support Election Day Registration and open up the electoral process in Iowa. Please contact your legislators TODAY in support of EDR!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Take Action Now! Your Activism Makes a Real Difference!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please your state representative and senator that you support Election Day Registration legislation and that you want them to help it pass.   PLEASE USE YOUR OWN WORDS as much as possible when you email, call or write to make your position known. And be sure to include your name, address, and phone number so that your elected officials can let you know their position.

To contact your Senator and Representative visit the Iowa General Assembly web site:
http://www.legis.state.ia.us/FindLeg/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Talking Points:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please use any of the following points when telling your legislators why you are asking them to support Election Day Registration:

* Election Day Registration is one of the best ways to make voting accessible for all eligible citizens, especially young people and those who have recently moved.

* EDR will make elections easier to run because it will end the need for the vast majority of provisional ballots. Voters who have problems with their registrations or have recently moved, will simply register at the polls and cast a regular ballot.

* EDR is safe from voter fraud. Registrants are required to provide identification and proof of residence, and strict penalties apply to anyone who attempts to register fraudulently.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sample Letter:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Senator (or Representative) __________________,

I urge you to help pass the Election Day Registration bill. This bill would allow eligible voters to register to vote on at the polls on Election Day.

The electoral process is something that should be open to all eligible citizens.   Unfortunately, the current voter registration deadline 10 days before the election closes off participation just as many people start thinking about the races.

Seven states already allow Election Day Registration, and voter participation in these states is 12% higher than in states with pre-election registration cutoffs.   These states have proved that EDR works.

In many places, it has actually made elections run more smoothly because it eliminates the need for provisional ballots, as voters who don't show up at the rolls can just register on the spot. There have been no documented cases of election fraud arising because of Election Day Registration, which requires photo ID.

Please help pass Election Day Registration in 2007 and encourage the entire State Legislature to do the same.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address

Remember to put your e-mail, phone message, or letter in your own words – the previous sample letter   is justt included as an example!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
More Details:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information on Election Day Registration, visit ICAN on the web or see the website of our nation partner on this issue, Demos.

Thank you for joining the effort to make the most fundamental right we have in our democracy – voting – acceccessible to anyone who is eligible to participate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And as always, please let us know that you took action --

To learn more about ICAN's work or to get more involved contact
Amy Logsdon, ICAN Political Director at 319-354-8116 or
ALogsdon@IowaCAN.org and visit ICAN on the web at
www.iowacan.org .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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