Sample ballots were placed out for voters to view for the 2024 primary election at the polling located located at Valley United Methodist Church in West Des Moines June 4, 2024. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
This article is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on Sept. 15, the International Day of Democracy, in which news organizations cover how democracy works and the threats it faces. To learn more, visit usdemocracyday.org.
Iowa voters will not only cast their votes for candidates in the upcoming general election, but will also have the opportunity to decide if two measures are added to the state constitution.
It’s one of the few opportunities Iowa voters have to weigh in directly on statewide public policy.
In many states, voters will make decisions on ballot issues that were initiated by voter petitions, bypassing the state legislature.
Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2024, ballot initiatives related to abortion access have played a prominent role in many states that moved to restrict the procedure. Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment protecting abortion and reproductive rights in 2023, and states like Kentucky and Kansas saw initiatives to restrict the medical procedure fail during the 2022 midterm elections.
Several states, including Iowa’s neighboring states of Nebraska, Missouri and South Dakota, will consider ballot measures to restrict or protect abortion access in the upcoming election. Additionally, multiple states will weigh in on other high-profile issues through ballot initiatives like non-citizen voting, marijuana legalization and their state’s minimum wage.
In many of these cases, these subjects were brought onto the 2024 ballot through a petition system, where statutes or constitutional amendments can be brought to voters following a successful signature drive.
Iowa does not have this system. Instead, the only statewide ballot initiatives Iowa voters will see are constitutional amendments that have been passed as resolutions through two consecutive general assemblies. Voter approval in a general election through a simple majority is the final step needed to amend the Iowa state constitution.
This year, Iowans will consider two amendment proposals, making the final decision on whether they will be enshrined in the state constitution. Here’s what to know:
Gubernatorial line of succession
One of the constitutional amendments Iowans will vote on this year is about the state’s gubernatorial line of succession. Iowans will vote on whether whether to repeal and replace a section of the Iowa constitution dealing with what happens if an Iowa governor resigns, dies or is removed from office.
The proposed new language would clarify that in these circumstances, the lieutenant governor will take over the position of governor until the end of the elected term. The measure also clarifies that this change will create a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor, allowing the new governor to appoint a new lieutenant governor to fill the position.
The amendment would change Article IV, Section 17 of the Iowa State Constitution to be:
If there is a temporary disability of the governor, the lieutenant governor shall act as governor until the disability is removed, or the governor dies, resigns, or is removed from office. In case of the death, resignation, or removal from office of the governor, the lieutenant governor shall become governor for the remainder of the term, which shall create a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor. This section shall also apply, as appropriate, to the governor-elect and the lieutenant governor-elect.
This issue came up after Gov. Kim Reynolds — formerly lieutenant governor under former Gov. Terry Branstad — took the top office when Branstad resigned to join former President Donald Trump’s administration as U.S. ambassador to China. While Reynolds became governor, former Attorney General Tom Miller issued a legal opinion in 2017 that stated Reynolds had technically not vacated the position of lieutenant governor, and could not formally appoint someone to the position.
Reynolds appointed former Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg to the position in May 2017. However, until he and Reynolds won reelection in 2018, the person to fill the office of governor if Reynolds left would have been then-Senate President Jack Whitver.
The measure received bipartisan support when it passed through the Legislature, but some Democrats voted against the proposed amendment while asking for legislative approval to be added to the appointment process. Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City, said in 2023 that he believed the lieutenant governor should be confirmed by the Iowa Senate, similar to how Senate approval is needed when the governor appoints heads of state agencies.
“My concern is the lack of oversight from the Legislature on who would be chosen for this position,” Zabner said. “For a position as important as lieutenant governor, I think it’s very important that the Legislature have a say in at least confirming the appointment and making sure that it is a reasonable person.”
Discussion about the amendment has also recently been driven by Gregg’s resignation as lieutenant governor earlier in September. Rep. Heather Matson, D-Ankeny, said there has been some confusion over the language because of questions about who will fill the new vacancy in the lieutenant governor’s office.
“The coincidence of timing is why there is that added level of confusion,” Matson said in an interview with the Iowa Capital Dispatch. “But the amendment only applies to when someone is lieutenant governor and becomes governor, because the person who was governor has stepped down or left office for some particular reason.”
Reynolds is currently able to appoint a person to serve as her lieutenant governor without stipulations or legislative approval — and has said she plans to make an appointment for the position later this fall. The person appointed will serve for the remaining term of office, until the next gubernatorial election — in this case, until 2026.
The problem that arose in 2017 came about because of the attorney general’s ruling that Reynolds had not officially vacated the office of lieutenant governor after succeeding Branstad. The constitutional amendment is only meant to address circumstances where the Iowa governor leaves their position, and will not have an impact on Reynolds’ ability to fill Gregg’s position.
Voting age, citizenship language
Another proposed constitutional amendment would would repeal and replace Article II, Section 1 of the Iowa State Constitution to read:
The change would codify in the state constitution that 17-year-olds are allowed to vote in primary elections if they will be age 18 by the general election, in addition to modifying the voting age from 21 to 18. These voting age regulations are already in practice under state law, but would simply be added to the state constitution if voters approve the measure in the general election.
The amendment also includes a language change, replacing the wording that “every citizen of the United States” who meets voter requirements can participate in the state’s elections to instead state “only a citizen of the United States” with needed qualifications can vote.
The amendment passed through the legislative process with unanimous support in all four votes.
What constitutional amendments could Iowans see on future ballots?
Though Iowans will only cast their votes for two measures during the 2024 general election, there are other proposals working through the legislative process that may appear on the ballot in future years.
Iowa Republican lawmakers, who hold a majority in the House and supermajority in the Senate, passed two proposed constitutional amendments related to taxes during the 2024 legislative session.
House Joint Resolution 2006 would amend the state constitution to require a two-thirds majority vote of legislators for passing increases to individual or corporate income tax rates. Another proposal, Senate Joint Resolution 2004, would enshrine a flat individual income tax rate in the state constitution.
Democrats argued during session that these proposed constitutional amendments would hurt the state’s ability to respond to financial problems, and could mean that future lawmakers are forced to pursue taxes that disproportionately impact lower- and middle-income families, like increased sales or grocery taxes.
However, Republicans including Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, said these policies are in place in many Democrat-led states’ constitutions, and that “the sky did not fall, every example of dystopian future did not happen.”
These measures passed largely along party lines in the Iowa House and Senate during the session. However, there’s still time before Iowans will see the tax proposals on a general election ballot. First, the measures must be approved during the next general assembly that will begin after the 2024 election.