Like in every year since 2017, when Republicans gained majorities in both chambers of the Iowa legislature, there is a voting bill this session, House Study Bill 697. A person could set their clock by this behavior. The impact of the annual process is to make elections more difficult for Iowans. Changing the duties of the Iowa Secretary of State and how elections are conducted is a feature, not a bug, of Republican governance.

While the majority party continues to ratchet down election restrictions, they apparently don’t understand that whatever scheme they devise will serve Democratic success in re-taking control of the legislature. Democrats did required analysis of the election process and designed the work needed to win during the 2008 election when Barack Obama won Iowa. They can and eventually will do it again.

Republicans can dink around all they want. It won’t mean diddly-squat when the Iowa population moves to replace them. The movement will be bigger than only what Democrats want. I believe the day is approaching.

There was drama during the Iowa House State Government Subcommittee over House Study Bill 697, as Trish Nelson pointed out. Rep. Amy Nielsen and Chair Bobby Kaufmann entered a heated exchange about the bill which ended with the two Democrats on the committee, Nielsen and Rep. Adam Zabner, walking out before the subcommittee meeting finished, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette. The subcommittee advanced the bill to the full committee in their absence. On Thursday, the full committee approved the measure.

Democrats have it wrong if their response to yearly voting restrictions is to bemoan loss of the halcyon years of the Obama campaigns when we could elect Democrats to statewide positions and award our electoral college votes to a Democrat. The kind of work we need to do is not complicated. Figure out who in the Iowa population will vote for our candidates, understand the new rules for voting, and persuade our people to vote. Strategies like this hopefully exist, are kept secret, and have already been implemented by the Iowa Democratic Party.

All you Republicans who are tinkering with the voting process, beware. Iowans are are coming to replace you and it may be as soon as in November.

I hope everyone reading this post is already helping Democrats get elected in November. The time to engage is now.