Editorial Roundup: Iowa

Dubuque Telegraph-Herald. September 3, 2023.

Editorial: Iowa should allow non-English voting materials

In the name of election integrity, Iowas attorney general is determined to fight a judges decision that cleared the way for election officials to offer non-English voting materials to the public.

You heard that right. Attorney General Brenna Bird believes the pathway to better elections is to exclude those American citizens who might benefit from a translation to understand ballot issues, follow absentee voting instructions and even register to vote.

If you cant read English proficiently, you dont deserve to vote is the message Iowa wants to send to its citizens, apparently.

For some 15 years, an injunction had blocked the practice of allowing Iowa counties to provide citizens with non-English ballots, voter-registration forms and absentee ballot applications. This summer, a district court ruling sided with League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa calling for the allowance of non-English ballots. The basis of the lawsuit was simple: Voting is a constitutional right. The judge agreed. (Dont we all agree with that?)