Iowa Republicans Want Signature Match as New Qualification to Vote

State Republican parties now backed by Donald Trump are
giddy about possibilities of voter suppression. See NYT:
"In a reality-based world, people bringing wild claims
of widespread lawbreaking should carry
the burden of proof. With voter fraud, it’s
the opposite — fact-averse Republicans have for years been
hawking the idea of large-scale voter fraud and then daring
others to do the real work of proving them wrong."

Republicans in Iowa do not want you at the polls.

Comes a report by William Petroski of the Des Moines Register on an innovative way to suppress the vote of the black and brown, disabled and young, introduced last week in the Iowa legislature, (House Study Bill 93, the "Election Integrity Act").

Iowa Republicans and only Republicans want a signature match as a condition to cast a vote.

The idea is this layer of qualification to vote will help weed out undesirables from the polls.

Iowa currently has a strong, affirmative Constitutional right to vote, (Article II - Suffrage, Iowa Constitution).

Iowa's neighbor, Wisconsin' may be looking to its neighbor to its southwest as Scott Walker and Wisconsin Republicans do not think of voter suppression ideas themselves.

Coming to Wisconsin?

From Petroski:

House Study Bill 93, labeled the 'Election Integrity Act,' has been proposed by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican.

Pate said his plan will modernize Iowa’s elections technology by establishing electronic poll books in every Iowa precinct.  In addition, the bill calls for establishing a voter ID system with signature verification, absentee ballot verification and post-election audits.

Every registered voter who does not already own a driver’s license, non-driver’s ID, military ID, veterans ID, or passport, will receive a Voter ID card in the mail, automatically, Pate said. This will apply to newly registered voters as well.

Republicans will use any tool to keep non-Republicans from voting, all for the purported objectives of electoral integrity and defense against voter fraud.