The promises come in response to a 4-3 decision from the state's highest court finding that all felonies are "infamous crimes" resulting in permanent disenfranchisement under the state constitution. The decision upholds what critics say is one of the harshest felon voting laws in the nation, and ensures the state will not see a significant shift in voter eligibility ahead of the 2016 election.
Iowa's governor and top elections officer, meanwhile, cheered the court's decision.
"This ruling goes in line with 150 years of precedence and has been reaffirmed by the people of Iowa and their elected representatives on multiple occasions," Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said in a statement. Pate's office oversees elections in the state, and he was named as the defendant in the case.
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad praised the ruling as a "common sense decision" that balances "the rights of convicted felons with the responsibilities felons have to their victims and community after they commit their crime."
The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, which argued the case before the court, had sought to limit disenfranchisement to a handful of felonies directly relating to elections and governance. If the court had upheld that view, thousands of Iowans with felony convictions could have had their voting rights restored ahead of this November's presidential election.
"This is no way (to) run a democracy," ACLU attorney Rita Bettis said in a statement following the decision. In a press conference, Bettis said the ACLU remains committed to voter access for ex-felons, and intends to draft a constitutional amendment loosening the current restrictions.
"Today, justice was denied in a narrow 4-3 decision," she said. "But today’s decision serves as a call for movement by the people and our representatives for a long-overdue state constitutional amendment to right this profound wrong. Those of us who have a political voice must all act now on behalf of those whose voice has been silenced."
Such an amendment would have to win approval in successive legislative sessions and by popular vote.
