DES MOINES, Iowa — As the 2024 election approaches, Iowa’s leading election authority has reported that a number of individuals who classified themselves as noncitizens may have participated in past elections illegally. The Secretary of State’s office made this revelation just two weeks ahead of the upcoming ballots being counted.
Election officials undertook a review comparing Iowa’s 2.3 million registered voters with data from individuals who self-identified as noncitizens to the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT). According to reports from Ashley Hunt Esquivel, spokesperson for Secretary of State Paul Pate, a total of 87 persons indicated their noncitizen status to the DOT yet had cast votes in prior elections. Additionally, 67 individuals had registered to vote while acknowledging their noncitizen status.
Hunt Esquivel emphasized that there is clear evidence indicating these individuals voted or registered unlawfully, a violation categorized as a Class D felony. Furthermore, 2,022 others reported their noncitizen status but later registered or voted, raising questions about their citizenship status during the time of their voting or registration. It’s conceivable they may have naturalized since then, and thus clarification is necessary about their status at the relevant periods.
Pate, a member of the Republican Party, highlighted the urgency of maintaining the integrity of elections as he announced these findings shortly before Election Day. It is illegal for non-U.S. citizens to vote in federal elections, and while there hasn’t been significant evidence of widespread occurrences, some states have uncovered instances similar to those in Iowa.
The topic of noncitizen voting has emerged as a primary focus for Republican candidates and officials as they gear up for the 2024 elections. Former President Donald Trump has made unsubstantiated claims suggesting that Democrats are facilitating illegal immigration to manipulate voter roles, despite the lack of evidence supporting such assertions.
Joe Henry, the political director for Iowa’s League of United Latin American Citizens, has expressed skepticism towards Pate’s motivations for issuing the statement, especially since existing safeguards are already in place. Henry raised concerns that these actions might unintentionally disenfranchise naturalized citizens.
Hunt Esquivel stated that Pate’s office has not yet formally revised the voter registration database. Nevertheless, with early voting underway, election officials provided the names of those identified as noncitizens to about 700 specific precincts. Poll workers were directed to challenge the votes of these individuals, offering them the option to cast provisional ballots instead.
According to the law, voters have a week—extended this year due to a holiday—to “cure” the ballot, meaning that if they can verify their status as naturalized citizens, their vote will be counted. Pate has consistently reiterated that Iowa laws safeguard electoral integrity, asserting that even a single instance of illegal voting by a noncitizen is unacceptable.
His office has submitted the names of around 150 individuals who engaged in voting or registration while self-reporting as noncitizens to Iowa’s Attorney General Brenna Bird and the state Department of Public Safety. It will be Bird’s office that decides whether to initiate any legal action against those involved. Tawny Kruse, representing the Department of Public Safety, stated that the department refrains from commenting on ongoing investigations.
Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa has announced its intention to monitor cases of potential voter disenfranchisement. Executive Director Mark Stringer stated that the organization will carefully assess any activities related to the electoral lists to ensure compliance with judicial mandates and federal legislation, thus safeguarding the voting rights of all eligible voters in Iowa.