Iowa party leaders weigh in on list of ‘non-citizens’ registered to vote

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The Secretary of State’s announcement that 2,200 self-identified non-citizens registered and voted in Iowa’s 2024 election has Democrats questioning the report’s credibility and timing, and the head of the Republican Party saying it’s a firestorm. caused “much ado about nothing.”

Secretary of State Paul Pate said his office has identified about 2,200 registered voters who identified themselves as noncitizens on a driver’s license or non-driver identification card with the Iowa Department of Transportation. Pate ordered counties to challenge those voters’ ballots to prove they were citizens.

During a hearing in federal court on Friday. federal government confirmed 250 names non-citizens appeared on Iowa’s voter rolls. But he is not yet sharing the list with Iowa officials.

However, this DOT data dates back 24 years and often does not correspond to current citizenship. Still, County auditors found dozens of voters on the list are legal U.S. citizens. This prompted The ACLU of Iowa and four citizens will sue the Secretary of State this week..

“I urge Minister Pate to release the names on this list so that we can make sure that he gets a little help and track down these people so that we can make sure that those people who are those who are citizens and those who are in this list have the opportunity to vote in this election,” Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart told KCRG TV9.

“So I hope he will be more transparent on this issue.”

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Pate acknowledges that not every one of the 2,200 names on his list is a U.S. citizen. He noted the names county auditors must use to require additional identification and use of provisional ballots, which will not be counted until proof of citizenship is provided.

Pate said his office was prohibited from using federal immigration data to cross-check the list. Iowa U.S. Senators Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst sent a joint letter to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services urging them to immediately release the information.

The ACLU and LULAC, the League of Latin American Citizens, sued the Secretary of State’s office.

“I saw what the ACLU said and they are essentially implying that some current US citizens will not be allowed to vote. That could not be further from the truth,” said Iowa Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann.

“That’s why we have provisional ballots in this state.”

Kaufmann said he believes the organizations are filing the lawsuit in an attempt to raise money.

“Organizations are trying to raise donations at the last minute because after an election it’s hard to get more dollars into your organization. I fully believe that is what is happening with the Secretary of State.”

But Democrats say it’s Republicans playing politics with the electoral process at a time when a polarized electorate makes every vote even more important.

“Voter integrity is a very important issue and certainly has received a lot of attention in the last couple of cycles. And so I wouldn’t say I’m worried, but we definitely want to make sure every vote is counted,” Hart said.

“If you are not a U.S. citizen, you should not vote,” Kaufmann said.

“I think this is much ado about nothing. And again, I can’t say it enough: If you vote in the primary, your vote will count.”