Joseph Howe is a political strategist and former Libertarian Party of Iowa state chair with experience working on campaigns as a state director such as Gary Johnson 2016 and Rick Stewart 2022. He also served as the Polk County co-chair for Rand Paul’s campaign in 2016. In addition to his political work, Joseph is a financial services operations manager and resides in Beaverdale with his wife Amanda and son John.

Iowa Republican legislators,

I am writing as a fellow proponent of limited government intervention and individual freedom, to express my concerns about House File 716, the bill aimed at regulating political parties’ caucuses, which was recently introduced in the Iowa House of Representatives.

It is important to remember that the true purpose of a caucus is to organize county parties. That can get lost in the media attention around presidential candidates and the money involved. The caucus process is the first step in organizing at the county and precinct level, which is critical to building strong and representative political parties. Would most Iowans who truly support limited government put money and prestige ahead of small “r” republican principles?

As Republicans, you are consistently on record advocating for limited government intervention in individual affairs. However, this bill goes against that principle, expanding government involvement in private political parties’ affairs and infringing on the peaceful association of like-minded individuals.

By mandating that individuals must attend a precinct caucus in person and declare their party status 70 days before the caucuses, this bill reduces the ability of a major party to organize at the county and precinct level and reduces representation in counties without an active affiliate. The likely result will be parties having a less representative state convention, which would be a disservice to the process.

We should be encouraging more Iowans to become involved in the political process through additional competition and engagement, not restricting their ability to have a voice in shaping the future of our country.

As a former Libertarian Party state chair, I worked with our volunteers and central committee to carry out the first virtual caucuses in state history, which, combined with in-person sites, greatly impacted representation and engagement in building a new political party. Libertarians simply do not accept that the authoritarian, big government state has the right to dictate how we conduct our internal party business.

Moreover, the bill reinforces the two-party system that dominates American politics by building barriers to entries for new political parties. This system limits the choices available to voters and hinders the ability of independent voters who do not care to associate with the two legacy parties. This bill, in effect, continues to promote a winner-take-all mentality that can lead to hyper-partisanship and gridlock, as politicians are incentivized to cater to their party’s base rather than the broader electorate.

Therefore, I urge you not only to reconsider this bill but also to take the next step towards fully privatizing caucuses and primaries by removing legal enshrinement of political parties from the government. By doing so, you would promote a truly free and open electoral system where candidates compete on the basis of their ideas, character, and ability to represent the people, rather than being beholden to a particular party or its special interests.

Fully privatizing the caucuses and primaries and removing legal enshrinement of political parties from the government would not only promote individual freedom and competition, but also enhance the democratic republic by creating a more level playing field for all candidates and more choices for voters.

I urge you to consider taking these bold steps towards promoting a freer and more representative republic.

Joseph Howe

Libertarian Party of Iowa State Chairman, 2018-2020

Editor’s note from Laura Belin: The Libertarian Party of Iowa regained major-party status following the 2022 general election, when the party’s nominee Rick Stewart received more than 2 percent of the vote for governor.

Republicans on the Iowa House Ways and Means Committee advanced State Representative Bobby Kaufmann’s bill on April 13, voting along party lines. GOP leaders have not yet brought House File 716 to a vote in the full chamber, but are expected to do so this week.

Top photo of Joseph Howe provided by the author and published with permission.