Rep. Bobby Kaufmann

Rep. Bobby Kaufmann Kaufmann Supported A Racist Voter Identification Bill Which Threatened To Disenfranchise More Than One In Ten Iowa Voters And Defended Making It Harder To Vote During A Global Pandemic Iowa Republicans Passed A Bill Which Threatened To Disenfranchise More Than One In Ten Iowa Voters More Than One In Ten Iowa Voters—260,000 People—Did Not Have A Driver’s License Or Non- Operator ID And Could Be Disenfranchised By The Bill. “The ACLU of Iowa reports that 11 percent of eligible Iowa voters—260,000 people—don’t have a driver’s license or non-operator ID, according to the US Census and the Iowa Department of Transportation, and could be disenfranchised by the bill.” [Ari Berman – The Nation, 4/13/17] House File 516 Sought To Eliminate The Option For Voters To Check A Single Box For Straight-Party Voting, Put Money Toward Helping Precincts Purchase Digital Poll Books, And Establish Post-Election Audits. “Other provisions would eliminate the option for voters to check a single box for straight-party voting, put money toward helping precincts purchase digital poll books, and establish post-election audits.” [The Gazette, 3/23/17] House File 516 Sought To Reduce The Time For Sending Out Absentee Ballots Before An Election By Over 25%. “Republicans made changes that would reduce the time for sending out absentee ballots before an election from 40 days to 29; would allow teenagers who turn 18 by the general election to vote in the earlier primary; and would establish four-digit voter ID cards.” [The Gazette, 3/23/17] The Bill Was Supposedly Going To Provide Voter ID Cards For Those Without ID, But The GOP Bill’s Red Tape Measures Failed, Leaving Voters Waiting And Wondering If They Would Be Able To Exercise Their Right To Vote The Bill’s Sponsor Projected That Half A Million Would Be Needed To Implement Voter ID Cards; Other States Enacting Voter ID Requirements Have Spent Millions On The Change. “Voter ID, on the other hand, won’t come cheap. It would almost certainly create confusion and delay at the polls. Pate initially projected $500,000 would be needed to implement voter ID cards, later reducing this estimate. But Pate’s estimates are based on currently registered voters, not the number of eligible voters who lack an ID. Other states enacting voter ID requirements have spent millions on the change.” [Editorial – The Gazette, 2/2/17] Registered Voters Without An Iowa ID Were Supposed To Receive A Voting Card In The Mail Automatically, But Some Said They Waited Weeks Without Getting Theirs. “Iowa’s voter identification law is creating confusion for some Des Moines college students who have out-of-state IDs. Registered voters without an Iowa ID are supposed to receive a voting card in the mail automatically, but some Drake University students say they have waited weeks without getting theirs. Katie O’Keefe is a recent graduate with a Minnesota driver’s license. She updated her voter registration in Iowa more than a month ago, ‘but I have not received anything in the mail yet so I still don’t have any card or anything to prove I can actually vote here,’ O’Keefe said.” [Iowa Public Radio, 10/24/19] The Gazette Editorial: “There Simply Is No Justification For A New, Expensive Voter Identification System, Especially At A Time When Lawmakers Are Wrestling With Commitments That Outpace Revenues.” “There simply is no justification for a new, expensive voter identification system, especially at a time when lawmakers are wrestling with commitments that outpace revenues. And especially one that will make it more complicated for Iowans to exercise their right to vote.” [Editorial – The Gazette, 2/2/17] Quad City Times Editorial: The Suppressive Measure Was Intentionally Racist— “Nothing More Than Jim Crow's Well-Dressed Grandson” Minority Voters Were Incredibly Less Likely To Vote In States With Voter ID Laws. “Minority voters are incredibly less likely to vote in states with voter ID laws, says a 2016 landmark study by researcher at University California, San Diego. Blacks are especially hard hit, the first-of-its-kind study says. But Hispanics, Asians and mixed-race voters, too, are exponentially less likely to cast ballots.” [Editorial – Quad City Times, 2/2/17] Quad City Times Editorial: The Policy Was A Strategy That Opted To Keep Opposition Voters From The Polls Instead Of Working For Their Votes— “Nothing More Than Jim Crow's Well-Dressed Grandson.” “Minority voters are incredibly less likely to vote in states with voter ID laws, says a 2016 landmark study by researcher at University California, San Diego. […] The result — already known by the masterminds of these ridiculous laws — is a pronounced benefit for Republican candidates. It's a strategy that opts to keep opposition voters from the polls instead of working for their votes. It's nothing more than Jim Crow's well-dressed grandson.” [Editorial – Quad City Times, 2/2/17] Quad City Times Editorial: The Suppressive Effect These Voter ID Laws Had On Targeted Communities Was Intentional, With Public Services Harder To Access For The Poor And Public Transportation “Somewhere Between Lackluster And Nonexistent In Most Of Iowa.” “Pate's dodging the real issue, and he knows it. Public services are harder to access for those living in poor neighborhoods. Public transportation is somewhere between lackluster and nonexistent in most of Iowa. Access to motor vehicle offices and county clerks is a nationwide problem that, in part, explains the suppressive effect these voter ID laws have on targeted communities.” [Editorial – Quad City Times, 2/2/17] Quad City Times Editorial: The Suppressive Effect These Voter ID Laws Had On Targeted Communities Was Intentional, With Public Services Harder To Access For The Poor And Public Transportation “Somewhere Between Lackluster And Nonexistent In Most Of Iowa.” “I thought of my grandmother, who passed away in 2005 at 99, when the Iowa Legislature passed a strict voter-ID law today. She didn’t have a driver’s license because she never drove (she’d frequently walk two miles from her apartment to the grocery store). Her passport expired long ago. She never had a US birth certificate because she was born in Poland and fled the Holocaust. She used her Medicare card as identification. She didn’t possess any of the forms of government-issued photo identification that Iowa will soon require to vote.” [Ari Berman – The Nation, 4/13/17] Iowa Republicans Cited The Circular Logic That The Law Was Necessary To Combat The Perception Of Fraud Which They Stoked, Though Its Existence Was Infinitesimal Iowa Republicans Asserted That The Law Was Necessary To Combat The Perception Of Fraud, Which Republicans Commonly Claimed Was Widespread. “Iowa has some of the best-run elections in the country. There were only 10 alleged cases of fraud out of 1.6 million votes cast in 2016 and no cases of voter impersonation that a voter-ID law might’ve stopped. […] Yet Iowa Republicans, who now control state government for the first time in two decades, say the law is necessary to combat the ‘perception’ of fraud—a perception created by Republicans who alleged for a decade without evidence that such fraud was widespread. ‘It is true that there isn’t widespread voter fraud,’ State Representative Ken Rizer told The New York Times. ‘But there is a perception that the system can be cheated. That’s one of the reasons for doing this.’ The fact that Republicans are pointing to the mere ‘perception’ of fraud as a reason to disenfranchise thousands of voters shows why Trump’s baseless assertions that millions are voting illegally is so damaging.” [Ari Berman – The Nation, 4/13/17] Voter Fraud Was Found To Exist In “Very Small Numbers” Between 0.00004% And 0.0009% Nationally. “A report called ‘The Truth About Voter Fraud’ issued by the Brennan Center for Justice found voter fraud rates were between 0.00004% and 0.0009%. Voter fraud exists ‘in very small numbers,’ said David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research.” [CNN, 1/26/17] Investigations Found Statistically Insignificant Instances Voter Fraud In Iowa, With The Majority Of Those Cases Attributable To Errors Rather Than Nefarious Intent. “And for what? Iowa elections are celebrated as one of the nation’s most voter-friendly. Relatively speaking, Iowa boasts high voter turnout. Previous investigations have found statistically insignificant instances voter fraud. The majority of those cases can be attributed to errors, not nefarious intent.” [Editorial – The Gazette, 2/2/17] Kaufmann Voted For The Bill Kaufmann: “I Voted For It. I Have Been Crystal Clear In The Last Four Years That I Favor Showing A Form Of Identification In Order To Vote.” “This bill received a lot of attention from those who are both opposed and for the bill. I visited with many of you on this issue. In the end I voted for it. I have been crystal clear in the last four years that I favor showing a form of identification in order to vote.” [Bobby Kaufmann – West Branch Times, 3/17/17] Kaufmann Worked To Make It Harder To Vote During A Global Pandemic Rep. Kaufman Voted To Pass The Senate Amendment That Included Voter ID Requirements And Restrictions On Auditors Filling In Missing Information On Absentee Ballots As Part Of The FY21 Budget. [Vote To Concur With H-8317, Journal Of The House, 88th General Assembly, 6/14/20] (pg. 772- 73) Iowa Republicans Voted To Expand The State’s Voter ID Program In The Dead Of Night And Make It Harder For Absentee Ballot Requests To Be Approved.

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