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The future of Voting Rights Act potentially threatened

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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 talk show producer for Iowa Public Radio. She holds a bachelor's degree from Iowa State University. Since 2022, Gehr has worked with IPR's talk team to bring news and features to IPR's listening audience.