Iowa Absentee Ballot Signature Verification Challenge
LULAC v. Pate et al
An anti-voting lawsuit seeking to suppress absentee ballot access in Iowa.
Background
The Republican National Committee (RNC) filed a petition in state court to lift a 2019 court order blocking a voter suppression law that required signature verification for absentee ballots. Plaintiffs assert there has been a “substantial change in the law” rendering the court’s earlier order “erroneous,” including court rulings on the state’s voter suppression laws and voter purges. The RNC seeks to intervene in the lawsuit to vacate the 2019 court order and to allow the signature verification provisions to go into effect for the midterms.
Why It Matters
Nearly one in three Americans voted by mail in the 2024 general election. However, the RNC is on a nationwide crusade to restrict mail voting through any means necessary. The organization has filed, or intervened, in numerous lawsuits seeking to require signature verification, limit overseas voters’ ability to receive ballots, decrease ballot drop box locations and other initiatives.
Latest Updates
- July 30, 2026: The RNC filed its petition and motion to intervene in the lawsuit.