IOWA CITY, Iowa - A new law barring county auditors from filling out missing information on absentee ballots request forms will stay in place.
A judge declined to temporarily suspend the law passed by state Republican lawmakers this spring. It requires auditors to contact voters by phone or mail instead of using voter registration records to fill in missing information on requests for absentee ballots.
Secretary of State Paul Pate is praising the court's decision against the lawsuit brought by a Democratic Party group.
Pate said the new law ensures election integrity because it's similar to requiring Voter ID in order to get an absentee ballot. He said, "an overwhelming majority of Iowans have repeatedly said they support Voter ID."
The League of United Latino Citizens joined the Democratic aligned group, Majority Forward, in filing the lawsuit in Johnson County.
During the past couple of months, Iowa courts have sided with President Trump's administration, which has legally challenged county auditors that have sent out absentee ballot request forms pre-filled with voter information.
Last Friday, state lawmakers OK'ed a request from Pate to allow auditors to begin opening outer envelopes of mail-in ballots on the Friday before the November 3rd election.