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Senate removes attester provision in elections bill, passes House File 2501
Summary
The Iowa Senate adopted an amendment that removes a provision allowing a registered voter to attest for up to two voters without ID, and passed House File 2501 as amended after debate about provisional-ballot timelines and a trustee-term technical fix for Broadlawn Hospital.
Senator Rosenboom, speaking for House File 2501 and Senate Amendment 5168, told the chamber the amendment takes two actions: removing a code provision that allowed a registered voter to attest to the identity of up to two other registered voters who lacked ID and clarifying a trustee-term provision affecting Broadlawn Hospital in Des Moines. "There are 2 actions in the amendment," Rosenboom said in opening remarks.
Senator Winkler questioned practical effects of removing the attester option, arguing elderly voters often rely on attesters and that provisional ballots impose a tight deadline. "That provisional ballot only gives them 3 days to go to the auditor's office and identify, come up with that photo ID," he said. Rosenboom and other supporters said the change aligns with the secretary of state's recommendations; after debate the Senate adopted the amendment, concurred with the House amendment, and passed the bill on a recorded vote (31 ayes, 16 nays). The bill title, as amended on the floor, was agreed to and the Senate ordered the bill messaged to the House.
The bill text and amendment that were discussed included both the removed attester language and the trustee-term clarification for Broadlawn's board of trustees. No formal implementation timeline was announced on the floor beyond the bill's effective date provisions in the enrolled papers. The Senate journal will reflect the roll-call vote and the names of senators recorded for the passage vote.
