A federal judge ruled Sunday that Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate can continue with his plan to challenge the ballots of voters who appear on a flawed list of more than 2,000 people, most of whom were wrongly flagged as potential noncitizens.
Four naturalized U.S. citizens whose names were on the list even though they are eligible to vote sued Pate over the plan, along with the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa. The ACLU, on behalf of those plaintiffs, argued that the plan is unconstitutional and asked the court to block the state and election workers from challenging voters because they appear on that outdated list.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher denied their request to stop Pate’s plan. He said about 12% of the names on the list are reportedly noncitizens who are registered to vote.
“Whatever concerns plaintiffs might have about the nature and timing of Secretary Pate’s letter, it would not be appropriate for the court to respond by granting injunctive relief that effectively forces local election officials to allow ineligible voters to vote,” Locher wrote.
Last Friday, Pate said a federal agency that has up-to-date citizenship information found that about 250 of the 2,176 registered voters on the state’s list are not U.S. citizens. On Sunday, he said the federal government still did not give that list to the state.
Pate said Locher’s ruling is “a win for Iowa’s election integrity.”
“The role of Iowa Secretary of State requires balance — ensuring that, on one hand, every eligible voter is able to cast their ballot while also ensuring that only eligible voters participate in Iowa elections,” he said. “Both of these are critical components to Iowa election integrity.”
Pate, a Republican, said he is continuing to ask the federal government to provide the smaller, verified list of noncitizens who are registered to vote in Iowa.
We are glad that our clients — the brave individuals who are standing up to this unlawful challenge of their right to vote — will be able to cast regular ballots.Rita Bettis Austen with the ACLU of Iowa
Rita Bettis Austen, legal director for the ACLU of Iowa, said she is disappointed in the court’s decision. She said Pate’s directive could still disenfranchise eligible voters who became citizens more recently.
But Bettis Austen said the lawsuit “produced some positive developments.”
“In particular, we are glad that our clients — the brave individuals who are standing up to this unlawful challenge of their right to vote — will be able to cast regular ballots,” she said. “We are also glad that the court forced Secretary Pate to ‘back away’ from this position in the directive and no longer require that everyone on the list be forced to vote provisionally only.”
Locher wrote in his decision that he “has concerns about whether Secretary Pate’s letter is consistent with Iowa law in certain important respects,” but said Pate has backed away from some questionable statements in his original letter.
Pate directed county auditors on Oct. 22 to inform their poll workers that they are required to challenge the ballots of everyone on a list of 2,176 people who, at some point in time, had identified themselves to the Iowa Department of Transportation as not being U.S. citizens.
In Iowa, while we encourage all citizens to vote, we will enforce the law and ensure those votes aren’t cancelled out by the illegal vote of a noncitizen.Gov. Kim Reynolds
At the time, he said all voters on the list would be required to cast a provisional ballot, which would not be counted until the voter proved their citizenship. Pate now says that voters on the list who show proof of citizenship at their polling place can vote a regular ballot. And if a county auditor knows that a person on the list is an eligible voter, they do not have to challenge their ballot.
Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds also called Locher’s ruling a victory for election integrity.
“In Iowa, while we encourage all citizens to vote, we will enforce the law and ensure those votes aren’t cancelled out by the illegal vote of a noncitizen,” she said.
Joe Enriquez Henry, state political director for LULAC Iowa, said he does not want new U.S. citizens to be intimidated.
“Our message is: Make sure your vote counts on Election Day this Tuesday, Nov. 5,” he said. “For now, be prepared to show your papers documenting your citizenship, whether that is a U.S. passport or certificate of naturalization from USCIS.”
Iowa is not the only state to have last-minute court proceedings over voting rules.
Locher in his decision pointed to a U.S. Supreme Court order last week that allowed Virginia to move forward with removing about 1,600 suspected noncitizens from that state’s voter rolls. Locher wrote that case “casts considerable doubt on whether the court should impose injunctive relief,” given that Iowa did not go as far as removing suspected noncitizens from the voter rolls.
Secretary Pate’s letter is likely to impose a modest additional burden on at least some voters who should not have to bear that burden.U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher
He wrote the plaintiffs would not be likely to win with their argument that the Iowa policy is unconstitutional because Pate is treating naturalized U.S. citizens differently than those born in the country. Locher said the 2,176 names on the list are a small fraction of the more than 79,000 naturalized citizens in Iowa, and the names were not selected based on national origin.
Locher also wrote the order will not cause irreparable harm.
“Secretary Pate’s letter is likely to impose a modest additional burden on at least some voters who should not have to bear that burden,” he said. “All the same, those voters are still permitted to vote and have their ballots counted.”
