On Thursday, Oct. 29, the Republican National Committee sued Black Hawk County Auditor Karen Showalter. The committee says her office wrongly withheld records on the security of vote-counting machines ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Iowa's News Now (CBS2) reported the suit on Oct. 29.
What the lawsuit says
The records at issue are the numbers on tamper-evident seals placed on voting machines after testing before the election, Iowa's News Now reported. In the committee's view, those numbers let the public confirm that the machines stayed secured until Election Day.
KCRG reported that the suit says committee representatives were not able to photograph or document the seals after testing and that the seal numbers were withheld. According to KCRG, Showalter declined to release the information under an Iowa law that makes some records confidential. The committee argues that law does not cover seal numbers.
The suit cites Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate as saying documents related to voting machines are public records, KCRG reported. KWAY Radio reported, citing the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, that the committee appealed to the Secretary of State's Office. The answer it got, as KWAY reported it, citing the Courier, was that Iowa law does not expressly require seal numbers to be listed, but that this alone does not make them confidential.
What the committee wants
The case was filed in Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Iowa's News Now reported. According to KWAY Radio, citing the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, the committee wants the court to order Showalter to produce the withheld records, impose a civil penalty and pay its attorney's fees. KWAY also reported, citing the Courier, that the committee has asked for an expedited hearing. The reports did not give a hearing date.
What each side says
Showalter says the serial numbers are confidential and that the request went against a resolution county supervisors passed in 2018, KWAY Radio reported, citing the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Showalter said she could not comment on pending litigation, and as of Oct. 30 no formal response to the suit had been filed in court, the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier reported. Iowa's News Now said Oct. 30 it had not heard back from the auditor, and KCRG reported Oct. 29 that Showalter had yet to comment.
Joe Gruters, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said, as reported by Iowa's News Now: "The people of Iowa deserve transparency in their elections." He added: "Iowa's Secretary of State made clear these records are public, yet Black Hawk County still refuses to turn them over."
In a follow-up story, Iowa's News Now reported that the Secretary of State's Office said it has "total confidence" in Iowa's election process and its county auditors, Black Hawk County's among them. The office said it provides guidance and training to the state's 99 county auditors, the station reported.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. For voting rules and deadlines, see the TFS News Iowa voter guide.
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