ed note: This Iowa portion of this release is on the Iowa District Court for Johnson County Sept. 25 ruling in LULAC v. Pate on county auditors completing absentee ballot applications submitted with missing information:

Republican National Committee
September 28, 2020

Courts Hand RNC Victories Over Democrats In Iowa, Ohio Lawsuits

WASHINGTON – The Republican National Committee, Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., and Republican allies were granted two major victories in as many days on important voter protection safeguards, dealing blows to Democrats and their liberal allies. 
 
Today, a district court denied a request brought by liberal parties seeking to stop enforcement of legislation that prohibits Iowa county auditors from guessing and filling in incomplete information on absentee ballot request forms, which would open the door to fraud and ballot manipulation.  In Ohio, a federal judge rejected Democrat group’s challenge to gut Ohio’s signature matching requirement for absentee ballots and ruled that this process will remain in force for November’s election. 

“Democrats continue to try and overhaul states’ election procedures with just weeks before Election Day, opening the door to chaos and confusion. These rulings are a win for voters, a win for election security, and a win for maintaining confidence in the electoral process,” said RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.

“President Trump and Republicans are fighting to protect every voter across America from the Democrats’ constant attempts to tear down election safeguards and steal this election for Joe Biden—and we’re winning. These rulings are victories for Iowa and Ohio voters, and President Trump will continue his fight for the free, fair election all Americans deserve,” said Trump 2020 General Counsel Matthew Morgan.

 More details on each below: 
•  Iowa’s District Court denied the Democrat Plaintiff’s request stating that they “cannot establish a likelihood of success on the merits.” • Ohio’s Southern District Court Judge ruled in favor of voter integrity, agreeing that the signature matching process ensures integrity in the state’s election procedures.  The ruling stated that “The State has a valid interest in combatting fraud and even the appearance of fraud,” and that “Ohio’s interest in orderly election administration is weighty enough to justify” the signature matching requirement.
Background:

These wins are part of the RNC’s broader efforts to fight back against Democrat efforts to eliminate existing election safeguards. The RNC is involved in approximately 40 election related cases, the vast majority of which were brought by Democrats seeking to upend voter protection laws.  The RNC has won on several of these cases, including recent victories in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa, North Carolina, Minnesota, Florida, and more.
 
Similar radical lawsuits are being fought in states like Pennsylvania, Maine, New Hampshire, and Arizona. The RNC has committed to spending $20 million to fight these efforts, and you can learn more at www.ProtectTheVote.com.

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Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate
August 31, 2020

MEDIA RELEASE: Secretary Pate issues statement regarding lawsuit from Democratic Party

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate issues the following statement regarding a lawsuit filed today by the Iowa Democratic Party, the DSCC, and DCCC:
 
“It is unfortunate that the Democratic Party is now opposed to a statewide mailing of absentee ballot request forms. They apparently only want voters in Democrat-heavy counties to request ballots, using request forms pre-filled with voters’ personal information. Not only would this lawsuit prevent my office from mailing absentee ballot request forms statewide, it would also remove additional flexibility for Iowa’s military, overseas, and healthcare facility voters.
 
The Democratic Party has already confused and potentially disenfranchised voters, and wasted taxpayer dollars in Linn, Woodbury and Johnson counties. Now they’re doubling down by suing over a lawful emergency directive that the bipartisan Iowa Legislative Council unanimously voted for, including their party’s House and Senate leaders.
 
We would encourage voters impacted by the decisions in Linn and Woodbury counties to utilize our mailing, which they will be receiving very soon. The official absentee ballot request form mailing from my office will go to all active registered voters in the state.”  - Paul Pate, Iowa Secretary of State
 
The quotes below are taken directly from the judges’ rulings in Linn and Woodbury counties:
 
“It is implausible to conclude that near total completion of an absentee ballot application by the auditor is authorized under Iowa law where the legislature has specifically forbidden
government officials from partially completing the same document.” – District Court Judge Ian Thornhill, Linn County
 
“The Defendant has knowingly violated the lawful directive of the Iowa Secretary of State in issuing the pre-populated ABR forms in this case.” – District Court Judge Patrick Tott, Woodbury County 

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Republican National Committee
August 27, 2020

Court Rules Against Rogue Iowa Auditor, Sides with Election Integrity and RNC

WASHINGTON – The Republican National Committee, Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and the Republican Party of Iowa declared victory today in Iowa when a District Court Judge ruled against the Linn County Auditor who was unilaterally defying state law by mailing out prepopulated absentee ballot request forms.  In a win for voter protection safeguards, the Judge found that the Linn County Recorder had likely violated Iowa law by mailing out absentee ballot request forms that were pre-filled with confidential voter information. The Judge ordered the Linn County Recorder to cease mailing out the prepopulated request forms and contact all voters who received a pre-filled request form instructing them to complete and return a correct request form.

“In yet another victory for election integrity, the court ruled against attempts to strip voter protection safeguards that Democrats are bypassing.  This ruling upholds a key voter protection mechanism and will help to ensure Iowa’s elections are free, fair and transparent.”  – RNC Chairman Ronna McDaniel

Separately, Iowa’s Secretary of State announced yesterday that he is launching a criminal investigation in Linn County into what he deemed to be a “security breach” of voters’ personal information. In a scathing rebuke to the rogue auditor’s actions, he wrote: “It is clear that you made a knowing and willful decision to disobey the law and disrespect the legislative process.”

The ruling today granted the RNC’s request for a temporary injunction, stating, “IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Temporary Injunction is GRANTED.  Defendant is temporarily ordered to obey the provisions of Iowa Code § 53.2 and the July 17, 2020 directive of the Iowa Secretary of State, in full.”
Background:
County Auditors in Linn County and Johnson County are defying state law by unilaterally mailing every registered voter in their counties an absentee ballot request form with prepopulated personal information – including the voter’s verification number.   Existing state law requires the individual voter to properly and entirely complete their absentee ballot application in order to receive a ballot, as this responsibility should fall on the applicant alone. Additionally, on July 17th, the Iowa Secretary of State announced a plan to mail every Iowa voter a blank absentee ballot request form for the 2020 general election.  The Johnson and Linn County Auditors are in direct contradiction of this directive and Iowa election law.

This victory follows recent action where the RNC and its Republican partners intervened in LULAC of Iowa v. Pate, where Democrat groups are seeking to overturn this commonsense election law requiring voters to fill out their own personal information. The RNC also recently sent a letter to Secretary of State Paul Pate demanding he order these rogue counties to stop their incorrect distribution of voters’ confidential information. 

Additional Information:
The RNC is currently involved in approximately 40 election-related cases, the vast majority of which were filed by Democrats seeking to eliminate existing election safeguards. The RNC continues to fight back against these assaults on the integrity of our elections. Recently, the RNC filed a suit in Nevada to stop the implementation of Assembly Bill 4, which takes unprecedented steps to dismantle voter protection standards in Nevada.  Additionally, the RNC intervened in Iowa to prevent third parties from filling out personal information on absentee ballot requests. The RNC was handed a major victory when Priorities USA and the Democrat plaintiffs dismissed every substantive claim in Nielsen v. DeSantis, a radical lawsuit brought in Florida that among other things, sought to force Florida to count ballots that arrive after Election Day and strike down the state’s ban on ballot harvesting. This comes on the heels of a victory in California when the RNC voluntary dismissed a case after defeating Governor Newsom’s unconstitutional Executive Order that would destroy California’s election integrity. Additionally, the RNC intervened to protect election integrity in Minnesota against Democrat attempts to remove ballot deadlines by Election Day and prevent the sending of ballots to inactive voters. The Republicans recently sued Clark County in Nevada for hiding evidence of a shady backroom election deal. The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania also recently handed Republicans a big victory, throwing out a left-wing lawsuit to allow ballots to be counted after Election Day. Similar radical lawsuits are being fought in states like Michigan, New Mexico, and Arizona. The RNC recently doubled its legal budget to $20 million to fight these efforts, and you can learn more at www.ProtectTheVote.com.

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Republican National Committee
August 12, 2020

RNC, Trump Campaign and Republican Groups Sue to Protect Iowa Voters from Rogue County Auditors

WASHINGTON – The Republican National Committee, Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and the Republican Party of Iowa announced two concurrent offensive lawsuits, Donald J. Trump For President, et al. v. Weipert and Donald J. Trump for President, et al. v. Miller, that seek to stop two rogue County Auditors from unilaterally and defying state law and throwing out important voter integrity safeguards. 

“By willfully and unilaterally disobeying Iowa election law, these County Auditors have destroyed a key mechanism designed to ensure the integrity of absentee voting. The responsibility of filling out personal information on absentee ballot applications is a key safeguard to confirm the applicant’s identity and should rest squarely with the voter. The rogue County Auditors must immediately stop their harmful actions that threaten the validity of and confidence in the upcoming election.” – RNC Chairman Ronna McDaniel
 
“While Iowa County Auditors have gone rogue and rewritten the rules for absentee ballot security, President Trump and his team are once again standing up for election integrity and the right of every eligible voter to safely and securely cast their ballot this fall. Dropping thousands of ballot applications with personal information already filled out in the mail is wildly irresponsible.” – Trump 2020 General Counsel Matthew Morgan
 
“Democrats will stop at nothing to disregard the laws in place to try and gain an electoral advantage. Protecting the integrity of absentee voting is paramount to free and fair elections and the NRCC is proud to join our Republican partners in stopping this latest attack on our electoral system.”  – NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer 
 
“Iowans overwhelmingly support voter ID laws to uphold the integrity of our elections, and we strongly believe election officials should be upholding current state law, not defying it. The Republican Party of Iowa is proud to stand with other Republican groups in joining this lawsuit to safeguard our absentee voting process and to protect common sense election laws." – Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann

County Auditors in Linn County and Johnson County are defying state law by unilaterally mailing every registered voter in their counties an absentee ballot request form with prepopulated personal information – including the voter’s verification number.   Existing state law requires the individual voter to properly and entirely complete their absentee ballot application in order to receive a ballot, as this responsibility should fall on the applicant alone. Additionally, on July 17th, the Iowa Secretary of State announced a plan to mail every Iowa voter a blank absentee ballot request form for the 2020 general election.  The Johnson and Linn County Auditors are in direct contradiction of this directive and Iowa election law.

The RNC, Trump campaign and Republican groups filed a motion for temporary injunction to order the Auditors to obey the Secretary of State directive and block them from sending out any more prepopulated forms that could harm the electoral process.  The actions of these Auditors have opened the door for fraud and ballot manipulation as the mass sending of prepopulated forms could land in the hands of inactive, deceased, or incorrect voters, and there would be no safeguard preventing fraudulent submission of the form.
You can view the filing here. 
 
This suit follows recent action where the RNC and its Republican partners intervened in LULAC of Iowa v. Pate, where Democrat groups are seeking to overturn this commonsense election law requiring voters to fill out their own personal information. The RNC also recently sent a letter to Secretary of State Paul Pate demanding he order these rogue counties to stop their incorrect distribution of voters’ confidential information.  As the two counties continue to knowingly defy state law, the RNC was compelled to act. 

Background: 
The RNC is currently involved in approximately 40 election-related cases, the vast majority of which were filed by Democrats seeking to eliminate existing election safeguards. The RNC continues to fight back against these assaults on the integrity of our elections. Recently, the RNC filed a suit in Nevada to stop the implementation of Assembly Bill 4, which takes unprecedented steps to dismantle voter protection standards in Nevada.  Additionally, the RNC intervened in Iowa to prevent third parties from filling out personal information on absentee ballot requests.  The RNC was handed a major victory when Priorities USA and the Democrat plaintiffs dismissed every substantive claim in Nielsen v. DeSantis, a radical lawsuit brought in Florida that among other things, sought to force Florida to count ballots that arrive after Election Day and strike down the state’s ban on ballot harvesting. This comes on the heels of a victory in California when the RNC voluntary dismissed a case after defeating Governor Newsom’s unconstitutional Executive Order that would destroy California’s election integrity. Additionally, the RNC intervened to protect election integrity in Minnesota against Democrat attempts to remove ballot deadlines by Election Day and prevent the sending of ballots to inactive voters. The Republicans recently sued Clark County in Nevada for hiding evidence of a shady backroom election deal. The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania also recently handed Republicans a big victory, throwing out a left-wing lawsuit to allow ballots to be counted after Election Day. Similar radical lawsuits are being fought in states like Michigan, New Mexico, and Arizona. The RNC recently doubled its legal budget to $20 million to fight these efforts, and you can learn more at www.ProtectTheVote.com.
 

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Republican National Committee
July 27, 2020

RNC and Republican Groups Intervene to Protect Commonsense Iowa Election Law

WASHINGTON – The Republican National Committee, Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and the Republican Party of Iowa intervened in LULAC of Iowa v. Pate, a Democrat-aligned lawsuit that seeks to circumvent Iowa state law by weakening important protections on absentee voting.  This intervention is part of the RNC’s continued efforts to fight back against Democrats’ assault on the integrity of our elections. 

“Once again, Democrats are up to their old tricks of trying to use the courts to rewrite existing election laws for their political gain and strip important voting safeguards. The responsibility of filling out personal information on absentee ballot applications should rest squarely with the voter, not with third parties that may have malintent. As Democrats are pushing for a rushed transition to a nationwide vote by mail, it is more important than ever to uphold voting protections.” – RNC Chairman Ronna McDaniel
 
“Democrats are trying to sue their way to victory because they know that in a free and fair election, President Trump wins hands down. Our President knows that the way to protect every American’s ballot is to adhere to election integrity safeguards, just like the protections in place in Iowa. We are fighting back and protecting the integrity of each vote cast in Iowa.” – Trump 2020 General Counsel Matthew Morgan
 
“This is the latest brazen attempt by the Democrats to use the courts to rig the election in their favor. The NRCC is proud to partner with the RNC, NRSC and Iowa GOP to protect the integrity of every ballot cast.” – NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer 
 
“Iowans overwhelmingly support voter ID laws to uphold the integrity of our elections. This lawsuit seeks to take us in the opposite direction and election officials should be upholding current state law, not defying it. The Republican Party of Iowa is proud to stand with other interested parties in fighting this lawsuit in order to protect Iowa's common sense election laws." – Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann

In LULAC of Iowa v. Pate, Democrat-aligned groups are seeking to overturn Iowa state law that prevents election officials from filling out omitted or incorrect information on absentee ballots, thus opening the door to potential fraud or ballot manipulation.  The RNC, the Trump Campaign, and its Republican partners are seeking to uphold this commonsense voter protection law that requires the individual voter to properly and entirely complete their absentee ballot application in order to receive a ballot, as this responsibility should fall on the applicant alone.
 
Iowa is already an absentee friendly state that makes it easy for individuals to vote, and state law already provides opportunity for reconciliation if a ballot does have missing information through the proper channels – the voter themselves. Striking down this law would create unnecessary administrative chaos and opportunity for fraud, which could harm Iowans’ confidence in a free, fair and transparent election in November.
   
Additionally, the RNC today sent a letter to Secretary of State Paul Pate demanding that he order two rogue counties to stop sending absentee ballot applications with the voters’ confidential information prepopulated.  As stated in the letter, “This reckless act is not only a severe breach of security (particularly for confidential information like a person’s date of birth and voter identification PIN), but likely violates both the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and Iowa law…Requiring each voter to supply their own confidential information, including their date of birth and voter identification number, serves as a ‘check’ to ensure that absentee ballot request forms are completed by the voters themselves, rather than unscrupulous third parties.”