FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, August 31, 2020
CONTACT: press@iowademocrats.org
Iowa Democrats, DSCC & DCCC File Lawsuit to Validate Pre-Filled Absentee Ballot Requests, Including At Least 64,000 Unlawfully Rejected Last Week
Secretary of State’s Order Against Pre-Filled Ballots Infringes on Local Authority to Administer Elections, Creates Confusion & Threatens to Suppress Vote
DES MOINES — The Iowa Democratic Party, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee today filed a lawsuit to validate pre-filled absentee ballot requests, including at least 64,000 signed forms that were unlawfully rejected last week. The court rulings that invalidated thousands of absentee ballot requests are rooted in a directive from the Secretary of State that violates state law, infringes on local authority to administer elections and makes it harder for Iowans to vote.
County Auditors in Linn, Johnson and Woodbury Counties sent more than 200,000 absentee ballot requests that were pre-filled with the information needed to obtain an absentee ballot. The pre-filled forms make it easier for eligible Iowans to safely vote during the pandemic, and help efficiently process absentee ballot requests in the wake of the burdens imposed by an onerous voter ID law Republicans passed earlier this summer.
Two weeks after the auditors announced their plan to send pre-filled requests, the Secretary of State issued a directive that only blank absentee ballots requests could be sent to voters – an order that exceeds the Secretary of State’s authority and conflicts with county auditors’ authority to “conduct elections” and protect the “rights…safety, health,… and convenience” of county residents.
More than 65,000 signed pre-filled request forms have been received by the counties to date. Judges unlawfully rejected at least 64,000 signed requests received by Linn and Woodbury Counties. The lawsuit filed today seeks to validate those requests and ensure additional pre-filled request forms that voters sign and return are processed.
“Partisan politics have no place in free and fair elections, and today’s challenge will help ensure that no Iowan is forced to risk their health during a pandemic in order to cast their ballot,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chair Mark Smith. “Iowa Democrats will fight tooth and nail against every malicious effort by desperate Republican politicians to suppress our fundamental right to vote. We look forward to the court upholding the local authority of county auditors and rightfully validating the absentee ballot requests.”
“At a time when we need to protect the right to vote, we will not tolerate policies that make it hard for anyone to cast their ballots,” said DSCC Chair Senator Catherine Cortez Masto. “This directive should be overturned, the signed absentee ballot requests should be validated and Iowans should have confidence that public officials will fight to ensure eligible voters can make their voices heard in this election.”
“In the middle of an economic and public health crisis, our leaders should be doing everything in their power to make voting safer and more accessible for every American, regardless of the state or county where they live,” said DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos. “Instead, Iowa Republicans are doing everything to make it harder and more confusing for voters to make their voices heard. I am proud to be part of this fight to ensure every Iowa voter has a safe, healthy, and simple way to participate in this election.”
“After playing political games with Medicare and Social Security, Republican politicians are scared to death that Iowa seniors will vote them out – so they’re doing everything in their power to disenfranchise our vote,” said Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans Vice President Kay Pence. “Iowa seniors strongly stand behind this challenge to ensure that every senior can vote by mail safely, easily, and with confidence.”
“Our vote is our voice for change, but some Republican politicians want anything but,” said Local Voting Rights Advocate Deidre DeJear. “This is just the latest example of one Iowan trying to suppress the voting rights of their fellow Iowan. Their manipulation of the rules and consistent movement of the goal post is unfortunate but all too familiar. Regardless of party, we can not stand for the GOP’s reckless assault on our right to vote. I am urging Iowans to oppose these attacks in one very powerful way: vote in November and vote for those who value the vote of every Iowan.”
A copy of the petition challenging the constitutionality of the Secretary of State’s directive is available here and of the petition to challenge the Secretary of State’s authority to issue the directive is here. The DSCC and DCCC have made a combined investment in voting rights litigation of more than $10 million throughout the 2020 election cycle.