Iowa finds several dozen instances of noncitizens voting in a past election

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Several dozen people who identified themselves as noncitizens voted in a past election or registered to vote despite being ineligible to do so, Iowa’s top election official said with just two weeks to go until 2024 ballots will be tallied.

Elections officials compared the state’s 2.3 million registered voters to a list of people who self-reported as noncitizens to the Iowa Department of Transportation, according to Ashley Hunt Esquivel, spokesperson for Secretary of State Paul Pate.

Pate released a statement Tuesday detailing that his office found 87 people who identified themselves to the DOT as noncitizens but previously voted. An additional 67 people said they are not citizens but previously registered to vote.

“For those groups, we have pretty clear evidence … that they voted or registered to vote when they are not citizens, which is, of course, a Class D felony,” Hunt Esquivel said.

Additionally, 2,022 people had told the DOT that they are not citizens but subsequently registered to vote or voted. It’s possible that they became naturalized citizens in the lapsed time, so “we need clarification on what their citizenship status was when they registered or voted,” she said.

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Pate, a Republican, stressed the importance of election integrity in the announcement, which came two weeks before Election Day.

Voting by people who are not U.S. citizens is illegal in federal elections, and there is not evidence that it is occurring in significant numbers, though there are some states that, like Iowa, have identified dozens of such cases.

Still, the issue of noncitizens voting has been a centerpiece of Republican candidates’ campaigns and lawmakers’ efforts ahead of the 2024 election, and former President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested without evidence that Democrats are encouraging illegal migration to the U.S. so they could register the newcomers to vote.

Joe Henry, political director for Iowa’s League of United Latin American Citizens, questioned Pate’s motivations in releasing the statement, given safeguards already in place, and expressed concern that naturalized citizens may be disenfranchised.

“The decision to make the ballots of 2,022 registered voters provisional causes harm and real problems in determining Iowa’s election outcomes,” Henry said in an email. “The move to disenfranchise new citizens this close to the election could impact a number of close elections in Iowa.”

Hunt Esquivel said Pate’s office has not formally updated the voter registration database, but because early voting in Iowa is already underway, election officials sent the names of all individuals identified to relevant precincts — roughly 700 of them. They instructed poll workers to challenge those individuals’ ballots and ask them to cast a provisional ballot instead.

Per law, voters would have six days — seven this year because of a holiday — to “cure the ballot, which essentially means if they can provide any proof that they are naturalized citizens, their ballot will be moving forward and counted as cast,” Hunt Esquivel said.

Pate has regularly reminded Iowans that the state’s laws protect the integrity of the elections but that even one instance of a noncitizen voting illegally is too many.

Pate’s office has sent the names of the roughly 150 individuals who registered to vote, or voted, and then self-reported as noncitizens to Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and the state Department of Public Safety.

Bird’s office is ultimately responsible for deciding whether to bring charges. Tawny Kruse, spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety, said the department does not comment on pending investigations.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa said it will monitor instances of disenfranchised voters.

“We will closely review any action relating to the voter lists for compliance with court orders and federal law to ensure the full protection of voting rights for all eligible voters in Iowa,” executive director Mark Stringer said in a statement.