Iowa’s top election official says he has secret list of ineligible voters

A new email obtained by Starting Line offers a look into how the state plans to challenge more than 2,000 Iowa voters on Election Day.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is telling poll workers to challenge a list of certain voters on Election Day, and saying his office will prosecute them “to the fullest extent.”

But his office acknowledges that the list may have many people on it who have done nothing wrong and are legal voters. And he’s telling election officials to withhold the names of the people his office is targeting.

All this just two weeks from Election Day. 

Following an audit, the state claims it has found 2,022 instances where someone who may not be a citizen has either voted or registered to vote. Iowa Starting Line obtained an email detailing special directions for poll workers on Election Day if the people on that list attempt to cast ballots.

“You have a duty to challenge the voter under (Iowa Code) §49.79 and offer the voter a provisional ballot,” an elections official in the Secretary of State’s Office wrote in Tuesday’s email.

Under Iowa Code, challenged voters may still cast what’s known as a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots are counted if the voter can prove their eligibility—either on Election Day, or to a special precinct board that reviews provisional ballots. For citizenship challenges, voters must demonstrate proof of citizenship to have their vote counted.

Have questions about voting Nov. 5? Check out Iowa Starting Line’s voter guide.

Pate’s office informed election officials Tuesday that of the 2,022 people targeted, his office was recommending 154 of them for potential prosecution. In a statement, Pate said 87 of those voted in previous elections without citizenship and another 67 were registered to vote without being citizens.

“It is a felony for noncitizens to either vote or register to vote, and we will work with the authorities to ensure that those who break the law are prosecuted to the fullest extent,” Pate wrote in a statement Tuesday. 

The audit relied on self-reported information from the Iowa Department of Transportation, though Pate’s office has not released a full audit or explained whether DOT data has been used previously in this way.

Data could be over 20 years old; Some targeted Iowans may be full citizens now

A spokesperson for Pate acknowledged to The Des Moines Register that some individuals identified by the audit may have become naturalized citizens before voting or registering—meaning they could face challenges on Election Day despite having done nothing wrong.

The Secretary of State is withholding information on who these 2,022 people are. The information used to target them came from entries in a database that goes as far back as 2000. In that timeframe, it’s very possible for those voters may now be full citizens, legally able to vote under the law, as hundreds of Iowans are naturalized every year.

Yet Pate’s office is trying to keep the list secret.

“Do not release the names or other details publicly,” an elections official from the Secretary of State wrote in an email to election officials. “The number of affected voters in your county may be shared, but not any data that could identify the voters—even information that is technically part of their public voter registration record.”

The email from the Secretary of State said it was seeking guidance from the Attorney General’s Office on whether lists of names were subject to open records requirements.

LULAC Iowa said it is concerned about the timing of Pate’s announcement less than two weeks from Election Day, calling it “politically motivated.”

“The Secretary of State already has safeguards in place to review people before they are approved and receive a voter registration card,” said Joe Henry, the political director for LULAC Iowa. “Pate’s office should share what their methods are in that verification process to identify any weakness if he truly believes (2,022) non-citizens were caught trying to bypass our voting laws.”

Voter fraud remains exceptionally rare in Iowa and nationwide. Currently, the Attorney General is prosecuting a single case of alleged voter fraud in a Marshalltown special local election. Recently, the wife of a Republican Woodbury County Supervisor was convicted of filling out multiple ballots for other people to aid her husband’s reelection bid.

Here are the directions the Iowa Secretary of State’s office sent to precinct staff:

“Before the polls open, all PEOs who will be checking in voters should review the enclosed list of registered voters who have self-reported to the Department of Transportation that they are not a citizen and are currently registered to vote. Therefore, you have a duty to challenge the voter under §49.79 and offer the voter a provisional ballot. Follow the appropriate procedures for challenging a voter and processing a provisional ballot. While it is not required to complete the challenger statement form as a PEO, you are required to provide the voter with the Statement to Person Casting a Provisional Ballot produced by your e-pollbook software. You should also complete the Non-Citizen Challenge Form provided with this information.”