FORMER GOVERNOR CRITICIZES VILSACK'S VOTING RIGHTS FOR FELONS DECISION

DES MOINES - Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack's decision to restore voting
rights to thousands of felons was criticized Monday by his Republican
predecessor, who argued that the move is politically motivated.

Former Gov. Terry Branstad joined a chorus of GOP leaders who
disagree with Vilsack, a Democrat.

"I think it's a mistake,'' Branstad said in an interview. He left
office in 1999 after serving 16 years as governor. "To me, this
looks like a very political move. All of the sudden, you're just
going to make 50,000 people eligible to vote.''

Vilsack announced Friday that he would sign an executive order on
Independence Day automatically granting voting rights to felons and
other offenders who have completed their time in prison or under
state supervision. The order also would set up an automatic process
for restoring voting eligibility in future cases.

The order would immediately impact more than 50,000 Iowans now
classified as "disqualified electors.'' A group of state lawmakers,
including Republicans and Democrats, urged Vilsack to take action.

"What's interesting is that when you do give people the right to
reconnect, the right to vote, to become fully engaged citizens, crime
rates and recidivism are lower,'' Vilsack said Friday.

Current policy requires offenders to ask the governor to restore
their voting rights. That application also is evaluated by
corrections and law enforcement officials in a process that can take
three to six months.

Branstad favors that approach. He granted requests only for
offenders who fully paid fines, court costs, restitution and other
obligations, in addition to finishing their prison or parole terms.

There would be no such full-payment requirement for restoration of
voting privileges under Vilsack's order.

"I thought the process was very fair, and I thought it was a balanced
process,'' Branstad said. "It ensured that with rights also go
responsibilities.

"We helped the clerk of court offices collect a lot of money,'' Branstad said.

Branstad also took issue with Vilsack's claim that he inherited a
10-year backlog of cases from the Republican administration. On
Monday, aides to Vilsack said the governor was referring to
commutation requests from inmates serving life sentences, not voting
rights applications.

Republican legislative leaders said they are studying Vilsack's
planned order to see if it falls within his executive powers.

"I don't think it's the right thing to do,'' House Speaker
Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, said of Vilsack's order.

"I think society's entitled to say, you know what, we welcome you
back, but you don't get to help make laws once you've crossed a
certain line,'' Rants said.

Rants' office circulated a 2003 study by sociologists from the
University of Minnesota and Northwestern University arguing that
Democrats would benefit most from permitting felons to vote.

In the study, published in the American Sociological Review,
Christopher Uggen of Minnesota and Jeff Manza of Northwestern
contended that seven in 10 votes cast by disqualified voters would
have gone to Democratic candidates in a series of U.S. Senate
elections between 1972 and 2000.