Republicans want to make it easier to reject votes cast by mail in Iowa 

Republicans asked a state judge Thursday to lift a 2019 court order blocking part of an Iowa voter-suppression law that restricts absentee voting. If the order is lifted, it would make it much easier for election officials to toss out absentee ballots if they can’t match a voter’s signature with the one on their voter registration.

Iowa’s Senate race is one of the most closely watched contests in this fall’s midterm elections, which Democrats have locked in as one of their best chances to flip a seat as they try to retake control of the U.S. Senate. The lawsuit, which was filed by the Iowa GOP and backed by the Republican National Committee (RNC). It could put lawfully cast absentee ballots — in potentially one of the closest races this November — in jeopardy.

“Voters deserve confidence that Iowa’s elections are secure and that absentee ballots are protected against fraud,” RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said in a statement. “Democrats fought to block this commonsense safeguard years ago. Now, the RNC is leading the effort to restore signature verification, secure absentee voting, and strengthen confidence in Iowa’s elections. We won’t stop fighting until this critical election integrity measure is back in place.”

In 2017, Iowa Republicans passed a sweeping voter suppression bill that introduced voter ID requirements and, among other provisions, implemented new rules for election officials to match signatures on absentee ballot applications to voter registration records.

But pro-voting groups sued, and in 2019 an Iowa judge blocked the parts of the law that restricted absentee voting. The court said Iowa couldn’t reject absentee applications and ballots over signature mismatch, and blocked the state from requiring voters to include an identification number when requesting a ballot. 

In their lawsuit, Republicans argued that because Iowa has passed newer laws that restrict voting, the 2019 order should be vacated. In 2025, Iowa passed a new law that gives the state’s election chief more power over election enforcement, which includes taking over county-level recounts and audits. 

“The Secretary of State’s authority to require county auditors to uniformly enforce Iowa’s election procedures is now much stronger than in 2017,” the lawsuit reads. 

The plaintiffs also cite recent favorable court rulings affecting the state’s voter suppression laws and voter purges to justify their argument that the court should lift the ban on the state’s absentee signature-matching rule.