22 Legally-cast, Uncounted Votes Will Put Hart Ahead by Nine Votes
Johnson County voter Cheyanne Kurth went above and beyond to vote in the 2020 election. On November 3rd, she cast a provisional ballot because election officials told her that she did not have sufficient proof of residency, despite arriving prepared with mail to show her address. On November 8th, Ms. Kuth returned to cure her ballot, providing the County Auditor with her Iowa driver’s license and a piece of recent official mail showing her address.
However, when the specific precinct board met to review provisional ballots in Johnson County, Ms. Kurth’s ballot was not counted, apparently due to election worker error. According to a recent affidavit, the Auditor told Ms. Kurth that an “error in processing provisional ballots” prevented hers from being counted despite the fact that “you did everything you needed to do and you should have had your vote counted.”
“I am devastated that my vote did not count. It is deeply unfair,” said Johnson County voter Cheyanne Kurth. “Voting is very important to me and I took the extra steps of legally curing my provisional ballot. It is especially upsetting that my vote has not been counted due to an error by those tasked with administering the election.
Following an initial state recount process that left thousands of ballots in question, Iowa Second Congressional candidate Rita Hart filed a Notice of Contest with the U.S. House of Representatives which details 22 legally-cast ballots like Ms. Kurth’s that were unlawfully excluded from the state-certified results. To read the full Notice of Contest click here. Ms. Kurth’s affidavit can be found on page 84.
The Iowa Democratic Party is highlighting those 22 uncounted voters to emphasize the U.S. House’s responsibility to ensure that every Iowan’s voice is heard. The project comes as several of the disenfranchised voters have spoken out, demanding that their votes be counted.