22 Legally-cast, Uncounted Votes Will Put Hart Ahead by Nine Votes
Imagine you are an Iowan voting by mail in the middle of the pandemic this fall and, after voting in private, you accidentally rip your official envelope while sealing it. You want your vote to count, so you repeatedly check in with your election officials and are assured it will be. Then, you find out your vote was never counted. That’s exactly what happened to Scott County voter Jo Donna Loetz, one of the 22 voters whose legally-cast ballots were never counted in the race for Iowa’s Second Congressional District.
“I want my vote to be counted. I am very upset that, despite casting my absentee ballot and being told I would have a chance to vote even if there were a problem with the envelope, my vote has been ignored. My vote has not been counted due to the errors that election officials have made, and that’s not right,” said Jo Donna Loetz.
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. Loetz’s that were unlawfully excluded from the state-certified results. To read the full Notice of Contest click here. Ms. Loetz’s affidavit can be found on page A-92.
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.