Iowa sues Biden administration over refusing to turn over information non-citizens on voter rolls

DES MOINES — Iowa’s Secretary of State Paul Pate and Attorney General Brenna Bird are suing the Biden-Harris Administration for their refusal to hand over information about known non-citizens on Iowa’s voter rolls.

Pate and Bird say the administration’s US Citizenship and Immigration Service has refused the state’s repeated requests for information on the hundreds of non-citizens confirmed on the Iowa voter rolls, meaning the state had to rely on the best, but imperfect, data it had available to ensure that no Iowan’s vote was canceled by an illegal, non-citizen vote.

Pate says the lawsuit demands that the administration follow the law and give Iowa the access to data on identified non-citizens.  “My role as Iowa’s Secretary of State requires a balance between participation and integrity. We have identified solutions that will allow us to verify voter eligibility at registration, not after they’ve cast a ballot.”

Pate says having access to that list will allow more tools to be used to verify a voter’s status.  “The combination of access to the SAVE list, citizenship verification already completed by USCIS, and the ability to verify using social security numbers will not only make processes more efficient but will also provide another important tool in our toolbox to safeguard our elections process.”

Pate says failure to have the data this year resulted in the state being sued right before election day.