House Journal: Page 2263: Wednesday, June 4, 2003
SUPPLEMENT TO HOUSE JOURNAL
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE
A copy of the following communication was received and placed on
file:
June 30, 2003
The Honorable Chester Culver
Secretary of State
State Capitol
L O C A L
Dear Mr. Secretary:
I hereby transmit House File 614, an Act relating to elections and vote
registration by implementing requirements of federal law, creating a planning and
implementation committee, modifying closing hours of the polls, and making changes
relating to absentee voting procedures, including request and delivery of absentee
ballot applications, delivery of absentee ballots to the vote, and delivery of completed
absentee ballots to the county commission of elections, and including effective date
provisions.
The federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), a sweeping election reform
package passed by the U.S. Congress with strong bipartisan support in response to
problems with the 2000 presidential election, is intended to help Americans vote. It
sets specific requirements related to provisional balloting, voting equipment, disability
access, statewide voter registration databases, and voter identification. It is about
improving voting technology, upgrading election official training, and providing for
voter education. It is not about purely partisan political gain by one political party or
another or about making it more difficult for our citizens to vote.
By extension and logic, any state bill to adopt provisions of the new federal law
should not be more restrictive. Doing so violates the objective and spirit of HAVA -
making it easier to vote. Instead, the Republican Legislature insisted on making
House File 614 a partisan bill that makes it harder, not easier, to vote. Closing the
polls earlier and putting restrictions on absentee ballots are inconsistent with the
federal law.
When we live in a state and country where less than 50 percent of eligible voters
are registered to vote and less than 50 percent of those registered actually make an
effort to vote, I believe we should be examining ways to make it easier for our citizens
to participate in the election process. As president John F. Kennedy said, "The right to
vote in a free American election is the most powerful and precious right in the world."
My office made every conceivable effort to convey to the Legislature my concerns
about House File 614. Over the two-to-three months leading up to the 2003 Special
Session, I made it clear, in my private conversations with the legislative leaders and in
my public statements, that the Legislature should not pass a bill that is more
© 2003 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
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Last update: Tue Aug 12 09:30:00 CDT 2003
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