Iowa Democrats have a rare opportunity for party building before the 2026 general election. Our governor is the least popular in the nation and Republican activists don’t really like their field of primary candidates, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette. That includes Randy Feenstra who hails from the most conservative part of the state and is the current favorite in their gubernatorial primary. Lack of talent and personality never stopped Republicans, though.
Our neighbors in Minnesota are largely driving the opportunity I see. People just don’t like how federal agents are on the streets terrorizing U.S. citizens. Dislike is turning into action with more public demonstrations against the Trump and Reynolds administrations during the last year than I can count. Led by large, national groups, as well as by locals, millions of people across the country are being activated in the political process, including in Iowa. Not only are people participating in demonstrations and direct action, some of them showed up at our party caucus for the first time on Feb. 2.
I served as site leader for seven precinct caucuses and going in, I knew no one from my precinct who planned to attend. We did manage 32 people for seven precincts. I was surprised when three voters I did not know appeared in my group.
With the City of Solon’s annexation of a large, new subdivision, when the precinct lines were redrawn after the 2020 U.S. Census, we gained some neighbors. To a person, those who caucused with us were trying it out to see what local Democratic politics is about. That has been rare in my political life and is the reason for my optimism about party-building. I had to tap the deep well of memory to remember why we have precinct caucuses and explain the statewide process meaningfully.
I don’t know the future of Iowa politics, but Democrats are on the cusp of something big. The first step is to recognize the opportunity. Do that and hope remains for Iowa politics.
What characterized the 2008 presidential election for Democrats was the systematic use of nearly every procedural, legal, organizational, and technological lever within the electoral process to bring people to the polls that were previously infrequent voters. The Obama campaign innovated within the existing electoral system, integrating policy, organizational structure, data analytics, and ground tactics into one single, continuous outreach to voters. The results speak for themselves. Obama won — decisively.
I have living memory of that campaign, and it is worth examining how the underlying process has changed since then. In 2008, the focus was on persuading people to vote and vote for Obama and other Democrats. In the years since, a series of Republican-led changes in election law shifted the challenge away from persuasion and toward altering how voters participate in elections. These shifts in process are making a difference, particularly for the kinds of turnout strategies used by the Democratic campaign in 2008.
In Iowa, these changes took concrete form in the voting restrictions enacted by Republicans in 2021. The law signed by Governor Kim Reynolds redefined key elements of the electoral process in ways that made voting more difficult. I list the provisions of the law here in full because this post is intended as a reference. Taken together, these changes make campaigns like the one Obama ran in 2008 significantly harder to execute. The new laws must be followed, and campaign leaders have adjusted accordingly.
According to the Iowa State Association of County Auditors, the law required the following changes:
Voters must register to vote 15 days or more before the election to appear on the voter register on election day (formerly 11 days, and 10 days for general elections). Voters may still register to vote on election day, or when voting absentee in person, with both proof of identity andproof of residence.
A voter who has moved and has therefore been sent mail by the County Auditor to inquire of their proper address, andwho did not vote in the most recent general election (formerly the last two general elections), shall be marked inactive (unless they were not 18 years old at the time of the most recent general election). Registrations of inactive voters will not be cancelled until two more general elections pass with no voter activity.
Polls close at 8:00 pm for all elections (formerly 9:00 pm for primary and general elections).
When a registered voter is attesting to the identity and residency of a voter unable to present required forms of identification, the attesting voter must present his/her own required form of identification.
For a provisional ballot to be counted, the voter must either provide the necessary identification at the polling place before it closes at 8:00 pm, or provide it at the Auditor’s Office by noon on the following Monday. If the canvass by the Board of Supervisors will be held earlier than the following Monday (for cities with possible runoff elections), the identification must be provided before the canvass. (The post-election deadline was previously unclear.)
Employers must allow employees two consecutive hours to vote on election day, if they do not already have two consecutive hours off during the time the polls are open (formerly three hours).
The first day to submit an absentee ballot request form to your County Auditor is 70 days before an election (formerly 120 days).
The first day County Auditors may mail absentee ballots to voters is 20 days before an election (formerly 29 days).
The first day to vote absentee in person at the Auditor’s Office is 20 days before an election (formerly 29 days). (If you have requested a ballot by mail prior to this, your ballot will go out in the mail on this date.)
The first day to vote absentee in person at a satellite location is 20 days before the election (formerly 29 days), and satellite voting locations may only be established by a public petition with a minimum of 100 signatures (formerly County Auditors could establish satellite locations on their own motion). To learn how to request one, click here.
Absentee ballot requests for voting by mail must be received by 15 days before the election (formerly 11 days, and 10 days for general elections). Exception: If a voter is admitted to a health care facility, dementia-specific assisted living program, or hospital 14 or fewer days before the election, the voter may request an absentee ballot by telephone no later than 4 p.m. on election day.
Absentee ballots must be received by the county auditor by 8:00 pm on election day.(Previously, ballots were valid if postmarked before Election Day and received by the Monday following the election.) Postmarks or bar codes printed on ballot envelopes will no longer make a ballot received after election day valid, except in these cases:
Ballots from participants in the Safe at Home program received by the Secretary of State in time to be transmitted to the County Auditor by noon on the Monday following the election.
Ballots from uniformed and overseas citizens received by noon on the Monday following the election.
If an absentee ballot affidavit envelope is not signed by the voter, the County Auditor shall contact the voter, who may then:
Request a replacement ballot and return it by 8:00 pm on election day (changed from postmarked the day before the election or earlier).
Vote at the polls on election day.
Sign the affidavit in person at the county auditor’s office by 8:00 pm on election day (changed from 5:00 pm the day before the election).
Absentee ballot requests for voting by mail must be received by the County Auditor 15 days before the election (see exceptions above).
Must include the date the request is signed.
May not be sent to voters by County Auditors unless a voter requests one.
May not be sent to voters by the Secretary of State unless directed to do so by the state legislature in the event of a public health disaster declared by the governor.
May be sent to voters by candidates, political groups, and other private organizations, but no fields on the request form may be prefilled except for type and date of election.
The only people who may return a voted absentee ballot other than the voter are:
Someone living in the voter’s household
An immediate family member
The two special precinct election officials who deliver a ballot to the resident of a health care facility, dementia-specific assisted living program, or hospital
Voters unable to return a ballot due to blindness or other disability may use a “delivery agent” to deliver their ballots
Absentee ballots may be returned via designated ballot drop boxes (unless returned by a “delivery agent”), which if available must be located on the grounds of or within the building where the County Auditor conducts in-person absentee voting. (Auditors are not required to provide drop boxes.)
In the case of a voter unable to return a ballot due to blindness or other disability, the voter may ask a “delivery agent” to deliver their ballot. “Delivery agent” is defined as follows:
If a voter with a disability designates a delivery agent, the voter must complete and sign a designation form prescribed by the Secretary of State.
A delivery agent shall return no more than two absentee ballots per election.
The delivery agent shall fill out a receipt in a form prescribed by the Secretary of State and shall leave it with the voter.
The delivery agent shall collect the voter’s designation form at the same time as collecting the ballot, and shall deliver the ballot and designation form to the County Auditor at the same time. The delivery agent must:
Deliver the ballot in person to the County Auditor, not by mail or drop box.
Provide to the County Auditor the same identification as a voter at the polls.
Provide the following on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State:
Full legal name
Residential address
Phone number
Email address, if applicable
Sign a statement (prescribed in the law) certifying under penalty of perjury that the delivery agent has complied with the law.
There is lots to do to get ready for Monday’s precinct caucus so I am writing this short post and adding a photo. May we focus on the rising sun of each new day.
On Monday, Feb. 2, beginning at 7 p.m., the Iowa Democratic Party precinct caucuses begin the trek to the 2026 midterm elections. We will talk about issues, sign candidate nominating petitions, elect members of the county central committee, and pick delegates to the county convention. In the turbulence that has been the last 12 months, it is difficult to predict turnout. As a precinct captain, I am concerned about that.
It seems obvious our politics is moving away from political parties. A person does not need to be a Democrat to be outraged by the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Likewise, showing up at a memorial or demonstration is speaking up against our government in what can be a non-partisan way. The caucuses are where the rubber meets to road in politics, and if people believe they no longer need a political party it has consequences.
One of my favorite movie lines is from Casablanca, in which Captain Renault says, “Major Strasser has been shot… round up the usual suspects.” From years of working in local politics, I know most of the usual suspects who will show up on Monday night. Here’s hoping they and others do. Regardless of who shows, we will get the engine rolling toward the midterms.
A group of us met to do a walk through of the elementary school where our group of seven precincts will hold caucuses. All of us have been working on Democratic politics for a long time, including one person who started during the 1972 Iowa caucuses. Experienced hands can make the process go smoothly. The weather is forecast to be warm, our leaders are energized. It should be a good night.
The following was sent to U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, and to U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
I watched the videos of the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Major news media verified what I saw are real footage that depicts the killing of two U.S. Citizens who were no threat to federal agents. Good and Pretti were exercising their constitutional rights when federal agents killed them.
This can’t go on.
As our U.S. Senator I expect you to do something to prevent additional killings like this. I don’t presume to tell you how to go about that. The measure of whether you succeed will be the de-escalation of tension in states where federal agents have landed to address the administration’s concerns about immigration, including Minnesota and Maine.
As a U.S. Army veteran I am appalled by the apparent lack of training and control of these federal agents. Now is the time to put your experience in politics to work and do something most everyone can agree is the right thing to de-escalate these tensions.
Thank you for your service and for reading my note.
Should they respond, I will post the response below.
On Thursday, Feb. 5, Senator Joni Ernst emailed the following response to my letter. It is posted in its entirety.
Dear Mr. Deaton,
Thank you for contacting me about federal immigration enforcement. It is important for me to hear from folks in Iowa on matters like this.
No doubt Americans have firm disagreements on immigration, but it is essential for all of us, regardless of our political beliefs, to remain united behind a shared desire for the best future of our country. While I support Americans’ right to protest peacefully, no disagreement justifies violence.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data show Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) law enforcement officers have faced a dramatic rise in violent incidents and threats while carrying out their duties over the past year. Reported figures include a 3,200 percent increase in vehicle-ramming incidents, an 8,000 percent increase in death threats, and a 1,300 percent increase in assaults against officers.
These alarming trends underscore the critical importance of enforcing existing laws intended to secure the border and preserve the integrity of our immigration system. During prior administrations, ICE encountered fewer violent confrontations, in part due to many apprehensions occurring within the controlled environment of local jails after criminal aliens had been detained by local authorities, enabling safer ICE transfers. In the last several years, however, cities including Portland, Oregon, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, have adopted “sanctuary policies” directing local law enforcement to disregard ICE detainer requests and decline arrests involving individuals otherwise eligible for removal. Sanctuary policies have complicated federal enforcement efforts and, according to DHS data, coincide with a sharp rise in threats and attacks targeting immigration officers.
As you know, federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti. While the U.S. Senate lacks jurisdiction over any pending investigations involving the actions of individual ICE or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel, please know I appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is currently leading the investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.
Following these incidents, White House Border Czar Tom Homan reaffirmed the administration will keep immigration enforcement efforts targeted, prioritizing public safety and national security threats in our communities. In Minnesota, federal officials have been working with state and local partners to improve coordination, strengthening the safety and efficiency of immigration operations for law enforcement officers, community interactions, and detainees.
I recognize folks have strong feelings about these incidents, and I understand the emotions these tragedies evoke, as any loss of American life carries immense grief for families and communities. As a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, I have the opportunity to engage with my colleagues on these topics. On February 12, the committee will hold a public hearing with leadership from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, CBP, and ICE. This hearing is available at https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/ .
Should legislation on related issues come up for a vote, I will keep your thoughts in mind. I also welcome any additional insights or concerns you may have, as I always enjoy hearing from Iowans.
Sincerely,
Joni K. Ernst United States Senator
On Tuesday, Feb. 24, Senator Chuck Grassley emailed the following response to my letter. It is posted in its entirety.
Dear Paul:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me. As your senator, it is important that I hear from you. I know from your correspondence this is an issue you care deeply about.
I appreciate hearing of your concerns regarding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) presence in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I understand that there are ongoing investigations concerning the recent shootings in Minneapolis. We ought to let the investigation play out before making any judgments. Let me be clear, one death is too many and I will be watching the investigation closely.
Additionally, I was encouraged to hear that President Trump and Governor Walz spoke by phone as well as Mayor Frey. I sincerely hope Minnesota and federal law enforcement can reach an understanding so our federal immigration laws can be enforced safely.
Law enforcement continues to face a record number of threats in the course of their duties. When any incidents occur, potential misconduct is investigated; such is the case for the incident you referenced. I want to be clear though that our officers should never be threatened or harmed while enforcing our laws.
To that end, I believe there is a clear difference between the conduct protected by the First Amendment and unlawful obstruction.
I am continuing to monitor ICE’s operations and appreciate you sharing your comments.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
This week was the one-year anniversary of the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump. In my view, he and his sycophants can not be forgiven for the pain and suffering caused in 12 months.
Long before he was president I knew of an association between him and Jeffrey Epstein, convicted human trafficker, child sex offender, and serial rapist. I didn’t know the extent of Trump’s involvement, just that the two of them associated freely. Apparently more specific evidence of his transgressions and potential crimes are available within the Department of Justice which refuses to release the Epstein files even though the Congress passed a law requiring them to do so more than 30 days ago. Trump is unforgiven for his stonewalling.
In dismantling USAID, the U.S. government is directly responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths among people who relied on the largess of the world’s richest country. According to Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, hundreds of thousands of people have died for want of USAID. Trump is unforgiven for his inhumanity.
On July 4, 2025, Trump signed H.R. 1, a budget reconciliation bill that did untold harm to families across the country. Among other things, it cut $793 billion from Medicaid and $268 billion from the Affordable Care Act, resulting in over 10 million people becoming uninsured; and $200 billion from SNAP putting 5 million people at risk of losing their food assistance. Trump is unforgiven for his cruelty.
Also in H.R. 1, Trump increased the budget for immigration enforcement by $170 billion and unleashed an undisciplined and violent DHS on several states. The violence, including against U.S. citizens, is difficult to fathom. At least one death caused by DHS has been ruled a homicide. Yesterday, his immigration thugs invaded the State of Maine. Trump is unforgiven for his violence.
In the U.S. Army we called poor operations a goat screw, and certainly the attempted implementation of DOGE by Elon Musk was that. He cut funding in places like our local public library only to have the courts rule his actions were illegal. This back and forth left librarians in a quandary about how to maintain service during the tumult. The same holds true for other institutions cut by DOGE. Trump is unforgiven for his chaos.
One of the blessings I feel in my life is the heroism of the Greatest Generation in World War II. More than 50 million civilians died during the war, along with more than 20 million military personnel. Out of that conflict the world came together, forming the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Since then, Trump has been tearing those institutions apart, despite the many benefits. Trump is unforgiven for being a war monger.
Is there any positive side to this? The only one I can see is I know who I am, and this isn’t it. It is motivation to make change in our government which could then take action to change society for the better for everyone. It’s past time to get to work.
The following email was sent to my federal elected officials, Senators Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley, and Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026.
I must be blunt. If you don’t know that what the administration did in Venezuela over last weekend is wrong, there is little hope for you.
I have taken time to understand administration arguments supporting what they called Operation Absolute Resolve. In particular, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “It was a law enforcement function to arrest indicted individuals in Venezuela.” Everyone who believes law enforcement was the sole purpose of the operation should stand on their head.
President Trump’s actions in Venezuela and the Caribbean Sea are an extension of a long U.S. tradition of interference in the region. While in 1934, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the “Good Neighbor Policy,” pledging not to invade or occupy Latin American countries or interfere in their internal affairs, the region has been rife with covert U.S. operations to overthrow left-wing elected officials. Trump is not unique in this regard.
The public, announced plans from President Trump have been about much more than arresting Nicolás Maduro.
I urge you to use your position in The Congress to de-escalate what is wrong about our incursions into sovereign nations. News reports indicate about 75 people died in the action to capture Maduro. Our nation should think twice before repeating this mistake at the cost of dozens of human lives.
The president is not good at starting on time. One might say he is undisciplined.
At his inaugural ball, President Donald J. Trump said that his “proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.” What planet is he living on? I understand his rationale of peace through strength. In the case of Venezuela it is as bogus as a three dollar bill. The weekend operations escalated war-like behavior, not peace-making. If peace is what he wants, Trump is going in the opposite direction.
According to the Military Times, U.S. military operations are surging under Trump. He has overseen at least 626 air strikes, compared with 555 for President Joe Biden during all four years of his term. Military operations occurred in eight countries listed in the article. Donald Trump is not a peacemaker.
I viewed the entire press conference about weekend operations in Venezuela. It was hard to stomach all the misrepresentations and lies — the self-aggrandizement — yet it yielded a couple of things.
As many of us believed, the invasion and kidnapping of the Venezuelan president was about taking the country’s oil. Some in the United States have been lusting after it for decades. Trump confirmed this during the presser. How U.S. oil companies would proceed is sketchy at best.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported on Sunday:
“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference where he boasted that this “extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives.” (Cedar Rapids Gazette front page, Jan. 4, 2026).
Not so fast! Shortly after Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s new president she pushed back on Trump. “We are determined to be free,” she said, according to the New York Times. “What is being done to Venezuela is a barbarity.”
“We had already warned that an aggression was underway under false excuses and false pretenses, and that the masks had fallen off, revealing only one objective: regime change in Venezuela,” she said. “This regime change would also allow for the seizure of our energy, mineral and natural resources. This is the true objective, and the world and the international community must know it.” (New York Times, Jan. 3, 2026).
What should happen next is Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio and General Dan Caine — and probably others — are removed from office. The only remaining question is how that gets done.
On Sunday, Jan. 4, Veterans For Peace was part of an anti-war demonstration in Iowa City. Here are some photographs I took.
No War.We The People.No War. No billionaires above the law.Ed Flaherty of Veterans For Peace speaking at the anti-war demonstration on Jan. 4, 2026.
My annual applesauce cake fresh from the oven. Served with home made apple butter..
Whatever you do, Katie bar the gate! Don’t let 2025 back in no matter what!
I mean, seriously! Republicans could screw up the simplest things and did, in spades. Social Security was cruising along with its usual issues and along came Trump and DOGE, then Bam!
The Social Security Administration — the sprawling federal agency that delivers retirement, disability and survivor benefits to 74 million Americans — began the second Trump administration with a hostile takeover.
It ends the year in turmoil. A diminished workforce has struggled to respond to up to 6 million pending cases in its processing centers and 12 million transactions in its field offices — record backlogs that have delayed basic services to millions of customers, according to internal agency documents and dozens of interviews.
Long-strained customer services at Social Security have become worse by many key measures since President Donald Trump began his second term, agency data and interviews show, as thousands of employees were fired or quit and hasty policy changes and reassignments left inexperienced staff to handle the aftermath. (How Social Security has gotten worse under Trump, Dec. 30, 2025, Washington Post).
So many people depend on Social Security the problems seem unlikely to continue forever. Citizens will demand better before it gets too late. At least that is the hope.
Late last year I contacted the U.S. Institute of Peace seeking a speaker for our Armistice Day event in Iowa City. They were in terrible disarray because the president wanted to eliminate the organization. We had to find someone else, but Bam!
Next thing you know the courts ruled he couldn’t close it, yet still, he plastered his name on the building.
There are other examples but you get my point. If the worm is turning on the Trump Administration, like many believe it is, we need to be ready to step up and do what we can to run Republicans out of the U.S. Capitol. For me, that means getting my physical condition back to where it needs to be, conserving resources, and then getting involved in the rapidly approaching midterm elections.
Our world is changing and all hands will be needed on deck. I have seven words for today: The day we took our country back. Fit reason to celebrate the new year.
While dropping off four fire extinguishers for recycling in the county seat, nature called. The nearest public restroom was in the county administration building. The parking lot was almost empty, so I pulled in and did my business. On the way back to the car, I ran into the sheriff in his dress uniform. We exchanged pleasantries.
I’ve known him since he was elected to the city council in 2008. When he and his family moved outside city limits, I advised him as he started a garden. I worked on his campaign for sheriff. During the 2024 precinct caucuses, he, his spouse, and I were the only people attending on that cold, snowy evening. He is one of the good guys. If it matched his uniform, he would wear a white hat.
The encounter served me to ask, “What’s going on with my life?” That’s a rhetorical question because I know quite well what’s going on. I retired early so I could have some kind of creative life before I get infirm. As I exited the parking lot and turned west toward the warehouse club, I wondered how many more sunrises will I get?
A fierce urgency consumes me, or as Dr. King put it, “the fierce urgency of now.” There is much to accomplish, and given my good health and time left, more than a few things can be done. I need immediate, vigorous, and positive action in my life. The brief conversation with the sheriff informed me there is no reason to wait. The time for good works is now.
Each day I walk on the state park trail I observe my world. Because of when I walk, sunrises are a main feature. Not only can the sky be beautiful at that hour, it reminds us of the promise of a new day. Sunrises are more than enough reason to go on living. And so, I shall, as long as there is another.
Journey Home 
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