Last week, the ACLU of Iowa asked a federal judge to block Secretary of State Paul Pate's election guidelines related to the potential of non-citizens voting. The court upheld the guidelines but not before Pate modified his directions to county election officials.
- The secretary of state compiled a list of people registered to vote, who may or may not be citizens, using old driver’s license records.
- Originally the state required those on the list to cast provisional ballots only. Now, county auditors can use their own judgment to determine if the person is a qualified voter.
- Dai Gwilliam, a retired attorney and immigrant from Wales, discovered he was on the list of potential non-citizen voters. He’s a citizen but wasn’t when he last got his driver’s license. It’s a felony for non-citizens to vote, so he was alarmed to be included.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
On Sunday a federal judge upheld the Iowa secretary of State’s guidelines when it comes to the potential of non-citizens voting. I’m your Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel.
The ACLU of Iowa argues these voting directions could undermine the rights of naturalized citizens.
The secretary of state compiled a list of people registered to vote, who may or may not be citizens, using old driver’s license records.
Dai Gwilliam is a retired attorney and immigrant from Wales. He’s a citizen but wasn’t when he last got his driver’s license. It’s a felony for non-citizens to vote, so he was alarmed to be included.
"My belief is that Secretary Pate issued this threat right before election day with the intent of intimidating me, others, other recently recognized citizens and others in immigrant communities,” Gwilliam said.
While the federal court ruled in favor of the guidelines, the ACLU said it was pleased (Secretary Paul) Pate softened his directive.
Originally it required those on the list to cast provisional ballots only. Now, county auditors can use their own judgment to determine if the person is a qualified voter.
Gov. Kim Reynolds applauded the ruling: “....In Iowa, while we encourage all citizens to vote, we will enforce the law and ensure those votes aren’t cancelled out by the illegal vote of a non-citizen.”
Investigations into non-citizen voting over the last eight years indicate it is extremely rare and not significant enough to impact elections.
