ACLU of Iowa
Civic and Social OrganizationsIowa, United States11-50 Employees
The ACLU of Iowa is a private, non-partisan nonprofit organization focused on defending civil liberties and upholding both the Iowa and U.S. constitutions. It conducts legal action, legislative advocacy, and public outreach to safeguard constitutional rights for a broad cross-section of the population. Its work covers a range of issues, including freedom of speech and press, racial justice, LGBTQ rights, student rights, personal privacy, open government, reproductive rights, religious liberty and church-state separation, immigrant rights, women's rights, criminal justice reform, voting rights, and disability rights. The organization operates in Iowa’s courts, the state legislature, and in public settings to protect rights across diverse communities, with attention to varied beliefs and backgrounds. Founded in 1935 as a state affiliate of the national American Civil Liberties Union, it is based in Des Moines, Iowa, and functions as a regional civil liberties organization with a modest staff. In June 2025, it pursued a federal lawsuit on behalf of four naturalized citizens, alleging equal protection violations connected to a directive that produced hundreds of provisional ballots, illustrating its ongoing involvement in civil rights matters.