Hunter
11/11/24
Over 200 Iowa voters had their ballots challenged during last week’s election.
Iowa Secretary Of State Paul Pate ordered over 2000 persons on the voter rolls to have their ballots challenged unless they could provide proof of citizenship. The list was compiled from DOT data going back as far as the year 2000 for individuals who noted they were not US citizens when they got driver’s licenses.
The Gazette reports most of the challenges came from five counties: 94 ballots were challenged in Polk County, 33 in Johnson County, 27 each in Scott and Dallas counties, and 21 in Woodbury County.
Voters who had their ballots challenged voted by provisional ballot. The voters then have until tomorrow to provide their county auditor with documentation proving that they’re a US citizen.
A lawsuit filed by Iowa chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union and League of United Latin American Citizens alleged Pate’s directive created unnecessary obstacles for some Iowa voters. The suit was dismissed by a federal judge who acknowledged that most of the names on the list were likely US citizens, but couldn’t allow those that weren’t a chance to vote.
Pate’s office said in a statement that the issue could have been avoided if the US Citizenship and Immigration Services , which has an office down the street from the Secretary of State’s office, would have provided the citizenship status of the 2000-plus individuals on the list by Election Day, which did not happen.
The Johnson County Auditor’s office reached out to the voters on the list and were able to confirm 78 voters before Election Day.
The state is currently collecting information from the auditors regarding how many ballot challenges were filed in Iowa.