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Iowa voters reject constitutional convention call by more than 2-to-1

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November 4th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – While several close races captured much of the attention in the election coverage, there was a clear decision by Iowa’s voters on calling a constitutional convention. This year’s General Election ballot asked voters if there should be a convention to revise the state’s constitution. It’s a question that’s required to be submitted to Iowa voters once every decade. By a rate of more than two-to-one, the voters said “no.”

The final tallies show 407-thousand people said yes, while 971-thousand opposed the idea. A constitutional law professor at the University of Iowa says such a convention is only appropriate if voters think the system is fundamentally broken and needs significant changes. Iowa’s constitution was ratified in 1857 and has since been amended 48 times.