UPDATE! Election Bill Heading to Governor, Ends Voter Attestation
On April 7, 2026, the Iowa house passed HF 2501. This bill makes a number of changes to the conduct of elections, including data collected by county auditors. The bill was not controversial as first presented, but that changed after the House passed the bill in February.
HF 2501, as passed by the House, required additional reporting on how and when absentee ballots are sent back (voted in person, by mail, at satellite voting location). It also eliminated voter attestation in Iowa. Voter attestation is a process in which someone from the precinct on election day can sign a form saying someone is eligible to vote in that specific precinct. They “attest” to the person’s right to vote, even if that voter does not have their ID with them. This comes with serious penalties – if it is found that they are lying they can be charged with a felony. There have not been many (if any) reports of having problems with the voter attestation process. There were a couple of Democrats that voted in favor of this with the Republicans – you can see the vote here.
The Senate pulled the voter attestation and absentee ballot tracking language out of the bill before sending it back to the House. This vote was unanimous.
The House debated the Senate amendment to the bill on Tuesday, March 7. Representative Austin Harris (R) offered and successfully passed an amendment to put the elimination of voter attestation back into the bill. Representative Adam Zabner (D) emphasized that there have been no problems with voter attestation, it is not widely used in Iowa, and many older people use voter attestation because their ID has expired. He said eliminating voter attestation would take away options for older people in Iowa to vote.
“I’m not aware of any problems that have been caused by the voter attestation process,” said Rep. Zabner. “We have free and fair elections in Iowa and we should encourage as much participation as possible.”
“If we get rid of voter attestation, folks can still vote. They just have to vote by provisional ballot, and then show up later to cure that with an actual ID. We want want people to be actually be able to prove who they are and where they live to be able to vote,” said Rep. Austin Harris.
Put simply with voter attestation—voters can prove where they live and who they are with a witness’ signature. It’s not been abused, it’s not commonly used, but it is a time-saver for older Iowans and anyone who might lose their license right before Election Day. Why shouldn’t your husband or neighbor be able to swear to your identity – under stiff penalty for lying? The bill passed, this time with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats voting against.
UPDATE! On April 15, the Iowa Senate approved HF 2501 as amended by the House, sending the bill to the Governor for signature. If the Governor signs this bill, voters will no longer have the ability to vouch for the identity of another voter in their precinct. Older Iowans whose licenses have expired will have to vote a provisional ballot and “cure” that with proper identification within the prescribed time period in order for it to be counted.
We’ve seen several attacks this year on other voting. Only two survived and are still alive – HF 2501 and SF 140. SF 140 stops satellite absentee voting stations from being located on school property when there is a school-related question on the ballot. The House also debated SF 140 last week. That bill is also on its way to the Governor’s Office.
Although from the outside these bills look like they are stopping election fraud, the bills are actually restricting the ways people can vote.
- You can watch the original House debate here.
- You can watch the Senate debate here.
- You can watch the second House debate here.
- You can watch the final Senate debate here.
This bill was written by Makenna Hovey, the Advocacy Cooperative’s Government Relations Intern.