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The future of Voting Rights Act potentially threatened

River to River, hosted by Ben Kieffer

A federal appeals court moved to drastically weaken the act, which was passed in 1965.

On this Politics Wednesday, River to River host Ben Kieffer talks with University of Iowa's Sara Mitchell and Drake University's Rachel Caufield about the ruling, which would effectively bar private citizens and civil rights groups from filing lawsuits under one of its central provisions.

Mitchell and Caufield also discuss Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ efforts to win over Iowa evangelicals, Independent voters’ growing interest in Nikki Haley and the Israel-Hamas War.

Guests: 

  • Sara Mitchell, F. Wendell Miller Professor, University of Iowa
  • Rachel Caufield, department of political science co-chair and professor, Drake University
Ben Kieffer is the host of IPR's River to River
Dani Gehr is a producer for River to River and Talk of Iowa. Dani came to Iowa from her hometown in the northwest suburbs of Chicago to attend Iowa State University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in journalism, international studies and French. Before coming to IPR, Dani covered local government in Story County for the Ames Tribune and Des Moines Register.