DES MOINES - A group that opposes the statewide public smoking ban has launched a Web site that lists the names of state lawmakers the group says voted in favor of the ban in the hope Iowans won't re-elect those legislators Tuesday.

Choose Freedom Iowa's Web site lists 19 state senators and 65 members of the Iowa House of Representatives as having taken at least one vote "to oppose freedom for the people of Iowa."

The Web site encourages voters to print the list and carry it with them to the polls.

Jonathan Van Roekel, a board member of Choose Freedom Iowa, from Clinton, and a Republican running for a seat in the Iowa House, said incumbent lawmakers who voted for the ban could see a backlash from voters this election.

He said the organization launched the Web site to boost the issue's profile in time for Election Day.

"What we hope it does is we hope it creates an awareness," he said. "Our intentions are to show the people who the legislators were that voted to take away their freedoms."

The Web site lists Van Roekel's opponent, Rep. Polly Bukta, D-Clinton, as one of the lawmakers who supported the ban, but he said he isn't using the site to advance his own candidacy.

Van Roekel, who said he has a financial interest in two Clinton bars, has voiced his opposition to the smoking ban for months as president of the Clinton Organized Bar and Restaurant Association, but he said other small business issues also inspired him to run for office.

The House gave its final approval of the ban with a 54-45 vote, and the Senate approved the bill by a 28-22 vote, but both chambers held other votes to work out differences between the two forms of the bill.

Bukta voted in favor of final passage of the law, but she said the state's flood response and economic issues will likely outweigh the smoking ban when voters go to the polls.

She said her votes in favor of raising the state's minimum wage and teacher salaries will matter more to her constituents than her vote for the smoking ban.

Bukta said she opposes the exclusions that were included in the ban that allow smoking on the gaming floors of casinos, but she voted in favor of the ban to uphold public health.

"I know there are flaws in it. I'm hoping those flaws can be fixed," she said.

Other lawmakers on Choose Freedom Iowa's list said the smoking ban won't have a major impact on the election.

Rep. Linda Miller, R-Bettendorf, said the economy will play a much larger role in determining how Iowans vote than the smoking ban, but she said she expects owners of bars and other small businesses to emphasize the ban before the election.

"Many of the small business guys out there in rural Iowa have already gone under because of the smoking ban," she said. "I think it will determine their vote, but the general voting public is not as up in arms about this particular issue as, say, the bar owners."

Miller, who is running unopposed, said she originally supported the smoking ban to protect citizens from second-hand smoke, but she voted against the final version of the bill because she feared it would limit the options of small businesses.

The Web site's list includes Miller as someone who has voted at least once for the ban, but it also notes that she has since opposed it.

The list makes a similar distinction for Rep. Jim Lykam, D-Davenport, but Lykam said he's consistently opposed the ban.

He said he voted for a measure to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, but he said he's always opposed the legislation itself.

"On any of the final passages, I was consistently a 'no' vote," he said.

Lykam faces a challenge from Davenport Republican Linda Greenlee in the general election.

The smoking ban was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Chet Culver last spring. The law took effect on July 1.

It outlaws smoking in public buildings and most workplaces, including bars and restaurants.

Iowans can access the Choose Freedom Iowa Web site and the list of state legislators at www.choosefreedomiowa.org.

Fred Love can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or fred.love@lee.net.