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Waiting for a Deal & Playing Softball

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Iowa legislators literally played a game this week while they wait on their leaders to come to a deal that will end session. Sunday legislators got together after the Iowa Cubs game for the first annual Legislative Softball Game. Legislators took to the field to raise money for the Food Bank of Iowa and the Puppy Jake Foundation; it was Republicans vs. Democrats. The final score: Republicans 27, Democrats 16, and $26,000 for charities. 


At this point in session, it's the House vs. Senate. Leaders in the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate still cannot reach agreement on budgets and using public school funds to send kids to private school. House Republicans are short 20-some votes to pass the education changes, and the Senate Republicans and the Governor refuse to talk about budgets until the education changes are passed by the House. Until someone gives in, there is no deal, and no end in sight for session. 


The delay in session hurts House Republicans more than anyone - 14 of their members have primary opponents, and six of them are facing off against each other (redistricting threw them into the same districts). Only one Senate Republican and two House Democrats have a primary opponent. You can see the list here; the primary election is coming up soon on June 7 and the more time these legislators spend in Des Moines, the less time they have to door knock and campaign in their newly drawn districts. Those new districts mean new voters to introduce themselves to, and time is running out to do that before June 7.


Speaking of primaries, advice from Secretary of State Paul Pate:



  • Because of redistricting, you may not be voting for the people you know. Check out your new district here, and who is running in it here. Many county auditors already have sample ballots on their websites.


  • Make a plan to vote in the June 7 primary:


  • If you want to vote on Election Day (polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.), check to make sure where you will be voting. Your polling site may have changed. You can see where you vote on Election Day here (or you can call your county auditor). 


  • If you want to vote by mail, you need to request your ballot by May 23 (but don't wait - you can request them now - ballots must be received by the county auditor by Election Day, postmarks no longer matter, so you want to give the post office plenty of time to deliver the ballot, or make sure a family member or other allowed person can deliver it or you).


  • You can also vote early at your county auditor's office or a satellite voting location in your community starting May 18. Your county auditor's office can tell you more about these options.


Finally, most counties are looking for people to work on Election Day as a poll worker. You get paid - and you get to be part of the American election system! You can find out more and apply here! 

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April Capitol Chat


Watch the Iowa DD Council's monthly Capitol Chat for updates on the legislative session, changes at DHS, and more. The Capitol Chat was taped on April 29, and is available in ASL format.

Watch Capitol Chat Here!
Click here for ASL

NEXT CAPITOL CHAT:

May 25 (Noon - 1 p.m.)

Note that because of the Memorial Day holiday, we changed the time and date of this Capitol Chat to Noon on a Wednesday. So grab your lunch and join us for what we hope is an end of session update! 

Sign up now!
IABLE

IABLE Webinar


Join us next week (May 3) for a discussion all about Iowa's Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) plan. 


IAble recently updated its enrollment process to break down barriers for someone opening an account on behalf of an individual with a disability. To spread the word about this important change and to learn other important facts about the plan, join State Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald’s IAble team and the Iowa DD Council for this week's webinar! Click on the button below to register today.


DATE: Tuesday, May 3rd

TIME: 5 PM - 6 PM

LOCATION: Zoom

Register Now
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infoNET is a disability policy newsletter of the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council and its network of Iowans with Disabilities in Action.



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This project was supported, in part by grant number 2101IASCDD, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.