DES MOINES, Iowa — The ACLU of Iowa, the national ACLU and the law firm of Faegre Drinker filed a lawsuit on behalf of four naturalized U.S. citizens against the Iowa Secretary of State.
Those naturalized citizens will have to cast provisional ballots due to a list of names given to county auditors that Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate released last week. The list crosschecked Iowan voter roll information with the State Department of Transportation records dating back to 2000.
The Iowa Secretary of State said that this list was compiled due to a lack of help from the federal government sharing the ‘SAVE’ list. That list shows legal noncitizens and information that may make them identifiable for states. But with the crosscheck of state records, there are some naturalized citizens that will be challenged to cast a provisional ballot this upcoming Tuesday.
“I know that the more hassles and bureaucracy and hoops a person has to jump through, the less likely they are to vote to have their vote count,” said Orcun Selcuk, from Decorah who became a U.S. citizen in 2023 who is originally from Turkey. “I voted early in October, then I received a notice from the Winneshiek County Auditor which challenged my ballot and stated that I was not a full U.S. citizen.”
“In August of this year I became a citizen. I was greatly anticipating being able to vote in the upcoming election and registered to vote shortly after getting my citizenship. I planned to vote on Election Day with my wife,” said Alan David Gwilliam, from Iowa City who became a U.S. citizen in August 2024 who is originally from Wales. “I urge other recent citizens in my situation, whatever unusual accents you have, whatever country is your place of origin, whatever the color of your skin, to not be cowed by intimidation tactics and proudly exercise your right to vote. If you have completed the citizenship naturalization ceremony, then you should go to the polls.”
The Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate released a statement on Thursday morning, saying that his office asked the Des Moines Field Office of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to review the combined 2,176 names on the audit list, the agency did, but the federal agency will not let the Des Moines office release the results. The statement read in part:
“If the federal government has information that will ensure only U.S. citizens vote AND ensure naturalized citizens can cast their ballot as normal, that information must be shared.”
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate (R)
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