Court: Secretary of State Exceeded Authority in Rule Intended to Weed Out Ineligible Voters

A controversial rule establishing a process to identify and weed out ineligible voters has been struck down by a Polk County judge who said Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz exceeded his authority.

A decision by Polk County District Judge Scott D. Rosenberg invalidates the rule and assesses the costs associated with the case to Schultz’s office, the Des Moines Register reports.

Plaintiffs in the case were the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa Federation and the United Latin American Citizens of Iowa, who said the rule imposed by Schultz’s office could invalidate some voters because of outdated information in some databases, or be used to discourage and intimidate eligible Iowans from exercising their voting rights.

Schultz plans to appeal the decision.

Schultz, the youngest secretary of state in the country when he was elected in 2010, has made  the voter identification law a priority in his first term in office.

The process Schultz’s office devised screens voters through a federal database that includes citizenship information. Information about potential voters who were identified as ineligible was forwarded to county auditors in Iowa, who would initiate challenges to their registration.

ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis said the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database, which was used to weed out foreign nationals, “was not designed to provide an accurate, reliable or complete check on the citizenship of registered voters, and its use for such was never approved by the General Assembly..

“The long-fought decision today affirms that the Secretary of State may not avoid the legislative process in executing the duties of his office,” Bettis said, adding “the right to vote is fundamental and should never be used as a divisive tool for political gain.”

Joe Henry, president United Latin American Citizens of Iowa, said in a prepared statement that the ruling is a victory for Hispanics, the Cedar Rapids Gazette reports.

“On behalf of the Latino community in Iowa, we are so thankful that justice has prevailed,” he wrote. “The right to vote has been preserved by Judge Rosenberg’s ruling.”