H.J.R. 2007 Section 1. The following amendment to the Constitution of 1 the State of Iowa is proposed: 2 Section 5 of Article II of the Constitution of the State of 3 Iowa, as amended by the amendment of 2008, is amended to read 4 as follows: 5 Disqualified persons. SEC. 5. A person adjudged mentally 6 incompetent to vote or a person convicted of any infamous crime 7 shall not be entitled to the privilege of an elector. 8 Sec. 2. REFERRAL AND PUBLICATION. The foregoing proposed 9 amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa is referred 10 to the general assembly to be chosen at the next general 11 election for members of the general assembly, and the secretary 12 of state is directed to cause the proposed amendment to be 13 published for three consecutive months previous to the date of 14 that election as provided by law. 15 EXPLANATION 16 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 17 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 18 This joint resolution proposes an amendment to the 19 Constitution of the State of Iowa relating to disqualifications 20 of certain electors. Under Article II, section 5, of the Iowa 21 Constitution, a person convicted of any infamous crime is not 22 entitled to the privilege of an elector. Under Code section 23 39.3(6), an “elector” is defined to mean a person who possesses 24 all of the qualifications necessary to entitle the person to be 25 registered to vote. Under the amendment, a person convicted 26 of an infamous crime would not be constitutionally barred from 27 registering to vote. 28 The amendment does not change the definition of “infamous 29 crime” in Code section 39.3(8) which is defined to mean 30 a felony as defined in Code section 701.7, or an offense 31 classified as a felony under federal law. 32 The resolution, if adopted, would be published and then 33 referred to the next general assembly (88th) for adoption, 34 before being submitted to the electorate for ratification. 35 -1- LSB 5808YH (2) 87 jm/rh 1/ 1