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Iowa ethics committee investigating national conservative group's involvement in new voting law

Executive Director Jessica Anderson with Heritage Action said the group helped draft the voting law. "We did it quickly and we did it quietly," she said.

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board is investigating the national conservative group Heritage Action after its leader told supporters it secretly drafted an Iowa law as part of a coordinated effort to tighten voting laws across the country. 

However, the conservative group denied they had anything to do with drafting up Iowa's latest voting law. 

Here's what the law does

  • Limits number of days for early voting
  • Closes polls an hour earlier
  • Shortens voter registration deadlines
  • Changes the amount of time an employee can take off from work to vote (was three hours, now it's two) 

Here's what Local 5 has confirmed: 

  • A liberal investigative website called "Documented" released a recording of Executive Director Jessica Anderson at a recent Heritage Action meeting
  • The Associated Press reviewed and authenticated the video independently

"Iowa is the first state that we got to work in and we did it quickly and we did it quietly," Anderson said in the video. "We worked quietly with Iowa state legislature. We got the best practices to them. We helped draft the bills." 

Anderson said Heritage Action was able to "get three provisions in the larger elections integrity bill that were directly written by the Heritage recommendation." 

RELATED: State auditor launches investigation into county auditor's payments to election workers

Those three provisions include: 

  • Verifying the accuracy of the voting list
  • Cross-referencing voter records with other states when someone moves (which Heritage Action said is to ensure people can't vote in two states, but the Iowa Secretary of State already does this)
  • Remove inactive and ineligible voters from the voting lists

Anderson's claim presents a problem because Heritage Action has no registered lobbyists in Iowa, despite saying "we helped draft the bills."

That's why House Minority Leader Todd Prichard filed a complaint with the bipartisan ethics committee, targeting both Heritage Action and the Heritage Foundation. 

"They're entitled to their advocacy, but they have to follow the law," Prichard said. "And that's really what this complaint is about— if you're going to advocate if you're going to lobby, follow our laws. They're there for a reason. They're there for public transparency." 

Heritage Action did respond to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board via letter. 

In the letter, Christopher Byrnes with Heritage Action says no staff with the organization has spoken with any members of the Iowa Legislature relating to legislation over this year.

However, he does admit to being in contact with Gov. Kim Reynolds' office twice. Reynolds' office confirmed the communication but said it declined to work with the organization on both accounts.

Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, and Sen. Roby Smith, R-Davenport, are the co-writers of the legislation. 

Kaufmann told the Associated Press that Anderson's claim is a lie and that he never spoke with Heritage Action or any other outside group. Smith also told the AP he didn't work with the organization. 

Local 5 reached out to both for comment. Kaufmann has yet to respond while Smith sent us screenshots of another news outlet's story. 

RELATED: LULAC files lawsuit challenging new early voting law

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