Staff Reports
Iowa election officials have taken to the courts, suing the Biden administration for refusing to cough up a list of noncitizens registered to vote in the state ahead of the 2024 elections. It seems that the federal government, specifically United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), has decided that sharing pertinent information about illegal votes is a no-go, even though Iowa officials have confirmed that they have uncovered hundreds of noncitizen registrations through painstakingly labor-intensive work.
The lawsuit, filed by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate and Attorney General Brenna Bird, brings attention to the lack of cooperation from the Department of Homeland Security and its division, USCIS. Iowa, in its quest for electoral integrity, found itself at a crossroads when USCIS declined to provide federal immigration data that could help identify noncitizen voters. Instead of working with reliable data from the USCIS, Iowa officials had no choice but to resort to a shaky list from the Iowa Department of Transportation that flagged 2,176 self-identified noncitizens, many of whom may have already become naturalized citizens in the intervening time. So, who needs accurate records when you can play a game of electoral roulette?
Due to the lack of cooperation from USCIS, Iowa election officials have been forced to require that these 2,176 individuals show proof of citizenship or cast provisional ballots if they want their votes counted. This action, while somewhat inconvenient for the so-called “self-identified” noncitizens, is presented as a necessary measure to protect the voting process from any illegal ballots slipping in. If the Biden administration thinks letting noncitizens waltz in and vote is acceptable, they should be ready for pushback from states like Iowa that are trying to uphold election integrity.
Iowa’s litigation isn’t just an isolated issue; it underscores a broader national concern among conservative circles about the potential infiltration of noncitizens into the voter rolls. The Iowa officials argued that the failure of USCIS to provide essential data means they have to rely on the best available—and far from perfect—information to protect Iowans’ votes from being overshadowed by illegal ballots. The notion of “one person, one vote” is something they seem to take seriously, unlike some bureaucrats in Washington who prefer to play coy.
Iowa sues Biden administration over noncitizen voting debacle https://t.co/GQ0leywVqj via @dcexaminer
— Mark Parshall @markparshall (@MarkParshall) December 5, 2024
In a humorous twist, the lawsuit arrives as the ACLU of Iowa tries to challenge Iowa’s requirement for the 2,176 individuals by arguing it’s unconstitutional. They are representing a few who have become naturalized citizens and claim asking them for proof is unjust. Meanwhile, many in Iowa are left scratching their heads, wondering if the ACLU would ever challenge the idea of requiring valid IDs at the polls if it were something more traditional, like… a bar.
A win for Iowa in this legal battle would not just mean access to the noncitizen voter data directly from the feds but could serve as a litmus test for future attempts to secure voting integrity across the nation. The reality is clear; while the Biden administration dithers over noncitizen votes, states like Iowa are not waiting around. They are taking matters into their own hands, hoping to force the federal government to recognize the need for clarity and accountability in the voting process. Such efforts are crucial as the nation gears up for a critical election year, where every legitimate vote should count—and no vote from a noncitizen should ever see the light of day.
