Restore voting rights to ex-felons

To the editor:

In Iowa, ex-felons are permanently disenfranchised, their right to vote revoked for a lifetime unless they can go through a nearly-impossible lengthy and expensive process. Only two other states are so restrictive, and Iowa was not this harsh until the governor's executive order a few years ago.

The right to vote is the most basic and important of the civil rights, one fought for by millions. In automatically taking this away for life, we inflict a most cruel and unusual punishment upon people, a life sentence upon ex-felons telling them that they will never be a part of civic society, that they can never move on and will always be considered a criminal.

Disenfranchisement does not at all deter crime, but has been shown to increase recidivism for exactly this reason.

Please write to Gov. Terry Branstad as I have to restore voting rights to ex-felons, just as it was before 2012.

Amy Collette

Cedar Rapids