On February 22, Iowa legislators held a one-hour public hearing on a Republican election reform bill that had been introduced just days before and could achieve what Donald Trump’s campaign had failed to do during 2020’s election—curtail voting options for perceived Democratic voting blocs.
Iowa’s House State Government Committee‘s first witness was Alan Ostergren, a conservative lawyer whose views typified those backing the legislation.
“This bill has needed improvements,” he said, referring to its rollback of early in-person voting (from 40 days last fall to 18 days), ban on election officials sending voters an absentee ballot application, $10,000 fines for county officials and poll workers who err, and harder ballot access thresholds for third-party candidates. “It’s also not voter suppression. That’s name-calling. … No one ever defines what that term means. It just means that somebody is upset.” Continue reading.