Four voters, along with a Hispanic civil rights organization, have initiated legal action against Iowa’s election administrator, challenging his recent directive instructing election officials to contest the ballots of individuals potentially classified as naturalized citizens. This lawsuit argues that the state’s measures to prevent unauthorized noncitizen voting infringe upon their voting rights.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa submitted the lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday, representing four voters who have been identified by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate as possibly not being citizens. The lawsuit asserts that these individuals are indeed naturalized citizens. In a recent statement, Pate’s office indicated it provided county auditors with a list of 2,022 individuals who informed the state’s Department of Transportation (DOT) of their non-citizen status but subsequently registered to vote or voted. Since there is a chance these individuals could have naturalized since their last declaration, county elections were advised to challenge their ballots and allow them to cast provisional ballots instead.
These voters would then have a week—one additional day due to a federal holiday—to present proof of citizenship to ensure their ballots are counted. The complaint highlights a case of a newly registered voter who became a U.S. citizen just a day before registering, yet was nonetheless placed on the Secretary’s controversial list and subjected to an election challenge for simply exercising his voting rights.
The ACLU is also representing the League of United Latin American Citizens in Iowa in this action. While it is illegal for non-citizens to participate in federal elections, evidence of widespread illegal voting by non-citizens remains unsubstantiated, even though Iowa and several other states have identified some instances.
Prior to the filing of the lawsuit, Pate addressed reporters and explained that the DOT list is the only registry available for verifying citizenship without federal immigration records. He stated, “We’re balancing this process. We want everyone to be able to vote. That’s why none of them have been taken off the voter rolls. However, we have an obligation to ensure that they are citizens now.”
With early voting in progress and the election date rapidly approaching on November 5, the lawsuit seeks to revoke the list and prevent challenges to voters based on it. The ACLU argues that Iowa’s election officials are imposing undue burdens on the voting rights of naturalized citizens, treating them unfairly compared to other voters, thereby violating their constitutional right to equal protection under the law.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird commented before the ACLU’s lawsuit that the U.S. Department of Justice contacted the state in an attempt to influence Iowa to allow non-citizens to vote. She asserted, “Every legal vote must count and not be canceled by an illegal vote. In Iowa, we will defend our election integrity laws and protect the vote.” An email inquiry to the Justice Department for a statement regarding the lawsuit received no response.
Pate attempted to distinguish Iowa’s situation from that of other states, including Virginia, where over 1,600 voters were removed from registration lists following a recent executive order. The Justice Department and various organizations have since sued Virginia, contending that state officials violated federal law by purging voter registrations during the mandated 90-day “quiet period” prior to elections, a safeguard intended to prevent erroneous removals of legitimate voters.
In a related case in Alabama, a federal court ruling ordered the restoration of voting eligibility for over 3,200 individuals previously labeled as ineligible noncitizens. Testimony in this case indicated that approximately 2,000 of those voters had been correctly registered as citizens.