Iowans will vote on two Constitutional amendments during the general election. The first measure would change wording regarding Iowa’s voter age and citizenship requirements.
The proposed amendment would replace Article II, Section 1 of the Iowa State Constitution, stating, “Only a citizen of the United States of the age of eighteen years, who shall have been a resident of this state for such period of time as shall be provided by law and of the county in which the citizen claims the citizen’s vote for such period of time as shall be provided by law, shall be entitled to vote at all elections which are authorized by law. However, for purposes of a primary election, a United States citizen must be at least eighteen years of age as of the next general election following the primary election. The required periods of residence shall not exceed six months in this state and sixty days in the county.”
The amendment would officially lower the voting age from 21 to 18 years old and prohibit non-citizens from voting. While the constitution currently lists 21 as the voting age, 18-year-olds already have the right to vote under state law.
This change is largely to update the language to align with the U.S. Constitution’s language with current practice, reflecting the nationwide voting age as 18, established by the 26th Amendment.
In an interview for the Des Moines Register, Todd Pettys, a University of Iowa law professor, said, “As a practical matter, it’s not going to change anything. Since the federal Constitution says that in all the elections in this country the voting age is 18, Iowa never got the power to say otherwise.”
Non-citizen voting bans have become more common in recent years. From 2018 to 2022, voters in six states approved ballot measures to prevent non-citizens from voting. In 2024, eight more states–including Iowa–are proposing similar amendments. These states include Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin.
Sen. Jason Schultz (R) who sponsored the amendment, spoke on the subject during an interview with the Des Moines Register.
“I don’t think Iowans are in support of allowing illegal aliens to vote in our election, and I think they are excited about that opportunity to enshrine that in the constitution,” Schultz said to the Des Moines register.
Though non-citizen voting is already prohibited by federal law, these state amendments aim to bring the ban to more localized levels.
