Ryan J. Foley

Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Ia. — In a major voting rights case, the Iowa Supreme Court will consider whether to relax the state's lifetime ban on voting by convicted felons.

The court said last week it would hear the case, which could clear up longstanding confusion over which of the state's tens of thousands of former offenders are eligible to vote. American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP and other civil rights groups want the court to restore many of their voting rights before the November presidential election, in which Iowa could be a pivotal state. The decision could come this summer.

Iowa is one of three states — with Kentucky and Florida — with lifetime voting bans for felons unless their rights are restored by the governor.

Supporters say Iowa's policy is required by law and correctly restores voting rights only after ex-offenders prove to the governor they have paid victim restitution and are rehabilitated. Critics say the policy disproportionately impacts the state's black population and makes it harder for ex-offenders to reintegrate into society.

"This is an important case because Iowa is an incredible outlier," said Myrna Perez of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. She helped draft a brief for the League of Women Voters arguing that the policy does nothing to protect election integrity and is "detrimental to the citizens and communities of Iowa."

She noted that about 20 states have scaled back felon disenfranchisement laws in the last two decades. Maryland lawmakers voted Tuesday to restore voting rights to 40,000 former offenders.

The case hinges on a phrase in the Iowa Constitution in 1857 that bars anyone who commits an "infamous crime" from voting. The high court and lawmakers long put all felony crimes and some misdemeanors into that category, leading to a list of 50,000 people who can't vote.

But in April 2014, the court ruled that no misdemeanors trigger the loss of voting rights, and it would decide later whether all or only some felonies were "infamous."

Represented by ACLU, Kelli Jo Griffin filed a lawsuit months later asking courts to declare that she can vote, arguing that her 2008 felony drug conviction was not an infamous crime. After Griffin cast a ballot in a 2013 municipal election, she was charged with illegally voting as part of a state investigation into election-related crimes.

Griffin believed she regained her voting rights when she completed her sentence, which had been the policy under Democratic governors between 2005 and 2011. But Republican Gov. Terry Branstad issued an executive order in January 2011 requiring all ex-felons to apply to him to have their rights restored, a lengthy process that few complete. Jurors acquitted Griffin.

A judge dismissed her voting rights lawsuit last year, ruling that Griffin and all other felons were disenfranchised until the Iowa Supreme Court ruled otherwise.

The ACLU is asking the high court to rule that only people who commit specific crimes that undermine "the process of democratic governance through elections" are disqualified — crimes such as treason, elections fraud or public corruption.

But assistant attorney general Meghan Gavin asked the court to keep it applicable all felonies. Trying to determine which ones are an "affront to democratic governance" could be difficult and lead to absurd results, such as disqualifying someone who commits a minor campaign-related crime but keeping violent criminals eligible, she wrote. Elections officials asked the court to adopt a standard that's easy to administer.

Former offenders, like 46-year-old Jason Orent, are also hoping for clarity.

"It will be really important to get this settled," said Orent, who lost his voting rights after a third drunken driving conviction in 1996.

He didn't vote in 2012 over fear of being prosecuted in the voter fraud investigation. After consulting with a lawyer, he now believes his rights were restored in 2005 and wants the court to affirm that.

"Now if we could just get some candidates that would be worth voting for," he said.