A Polk County judge said she would rule “soon” on whether an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit against Secretary of State Matt Schultz will go on. Judge Mary Pat Gunderson also will decide if lawyers from the ACLU can depose Schultz and a Department of Criminal Investigation agent working for him as part of the case. The main issue was a pair of voter registration rules Schultz’s office approved as emergency measures in the run up to the November election.
One rule made it easier for any person to make a claim of voter fraud. The other allowed Schultz’s office to remove registered voters from the rolls based on an “exact match” of a person appearing on a federal database of foreign nationals. The removed voter would have 14 days to contest the removal.
The ACLU and the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa filed their suit in August, and Gunderson imposed a temporary stay of the rules in September.
Deputy Attorney General Jeff Thompson, who represents Schultz in the case, said the ACLU’s issues with Schultz’s emergency rules are moot.
He said Schultz plans get the rules passed through the normal rule-making process.
“There will be a public hearing in January as soon as the new rules are promulgated,” Thompson said. “They wouldn’t even take effect until March 13th.”
Full Article: Judge will rule ‘soon’ on Iowa voter rights lawsuit.