Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed two election-related bills into law on June 2—one to prohibit the use of ranked-choice voting in any election across the state and allow poll workers to request proof of voter citizenship, and another that overhauls and standardizes the state’s election recount procedures.
Reynolds’s office announced the signing of both bills—House File 954 and House File 928—in a June 2 press release, with Secretary of State Paul Pate sharing photographs from the signing ceremony on social media and saying the move was a win for election integrity in Iowa.
The more sweeping of the two measures, HF 954 bars any use of ranked-choice voting—also known as instant-runoff voting—at the state, local, or federal level in Iowa. Though not currently in use in the state, the method has gained support in some U.S. jurisdictions. Supporters of ranked choice voting say it is more democratic as it ensures majority winners, while critics say it complicates vote tabulation and undermines transparency.
The bill also authorizes election workers, beginning July 1, to request proof of citizenship status, expanding current law that already permits challenges over age and residency. Additionally, it empowers the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office to enter into agreements with state and federal agencies and private vendors to verify voter eligibility using a broader range of data.
The law also mandates that the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) provide the Secretary of State’s Office with a list of individuals aged 17 and older who have submitted documentation indicating that they are not U.S. citizens. Voters flagged through this process must provide documentation affirming their legal eligibility to vote in order to remain on the active voter rolls.
“I commend the Iowa Legislature and Governor Reynolds for recognizing the importance of these bills in strengthening and maintaining Iowa’s election integrity,” Pate said in a statement. “These new laws add additional layers of integrity to our robust election procedures, supporting our efforts to balance election integrity and voter participation.”
The passage of HF 954 follows a politically charged controversy in the run-up to the 2024 election. On Oct. 22 of that year, Pate instructed county auditors to challenge the ballots of 2,176 registered voters based on state DOT records, indicating they may not be U.S. citizens. The directive led to hundreds of voters casting provisional ballots and drew a federal lawsuit from the ACLU of Iowa on behalf of four naturalized citizens, alleging violations of equal protection rights.
A federal judge allowed the directive to stand, with an audit released in March 2025 confirming that 277 of the 2,176 flagged individuals were noncitizens. Of those, 35 noncitizens successfully voted in the 2024 general election, and five attempted to vote but were rejected. The state has referred all 277 cases to the Attorney General and the Department of Public Safety for investigation.
In response to the controversy, Pate pushed for legislative changes to shift verification earlier in the registration process.
“We are working with the Iowa legislature on solutions to verify citizenship at registration rather than as ballots are cast, and we’re confident both chambers will recognize the importance of this legislation,” he said in a statement in March, adding that the proposed solutions will be “crucial next steps in confidently balancing voter participation with election integrity.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was critical of the new law, with ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis Austen telling local media outlets that, “instead of fixing what went wrong, this law reads like a recipe for more racial profiling, discrimination, and voter intimidation.”
The second bill signed Monday, HF928, fundamentally restructures how election recounts are handled in Iowa. The law eliminates the old system that relied on partisan-appointed recount boards and replaces it with procedures overseen by county auditors and their staff. Recounts will now be conducted using uniform standards and methods across all precincts for any given race.
Under the new law, recounts in local or legislative races can only be requested if the margin is 1 percent or less—or fewer than 50 votes, whichever is less. For statewide or federal races, the threshold is set at 0.15 percent. Previously, candidates could request a recount regardless of margin, although the state only covered costs under certain circumstances.
“The bill also authorizes election workers, beginning July 1, to request proof of citizenship status, expanding current law that already permits challenges over age and residency. “
This should be authorized in EVERY state. But the purpose of the treasonous Democrat Party’s importing 15 Million illegal immigrants and forcing the U.S. taxpayers to support them, was to get them to illegally vote and to manipulate the census in order to manipulate state congressional representation in congress. This is the reason Democrat ruled cities and states claim to be sanctuary city and states. 🙁 🙁 🙁
One state down and 49 more to go. When in the next elections the Democrat percent of the vote plumets, the media will blame it on thier failed policies but in reality it’s just culling the illegals out of the voting booth like they should have been culleld out at the border. Bad policies never stopped the democrats fro stealing elections, particularly in Blue state cities. Their biggest weapon was ILLEGAL votes, cast by illegal represented people which when able to stuff the ballot boxes gave and will continue to give them the ability to overcome all acts of bad governance.
Problem #1: Illegals are included in the census, and the census is used to determine seats in the House of Representatives, and electoral votes. A state that harbors many illegal aliens will have an outsized influence in Congress and in electing the President.
Problem #2: When someone goes to a Registry/Departments of Motor Vehicles to apply for a driver’s license, they often also have the option to register to vote. Some states have pushed to give driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. And somehow, those same states seem to end up with a lot of illegal aliens registered to vote, even though it’s illegal. Funny how that happens!
Sounds like the reason they call it “Rank Voting” is becasue one definition for the word Rank ,,,is “Disgusting”,,,,like a terrible stink or smell.
IT SHouldn’t need to be ‘authorized’, IT SHOULD ALREADY HAVE been law.