The Trump campaign announced it is proceeding with lawsuits against two Democratic-leaning counties in Iowa that have promoted absentee ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Republican National Committee is also listed on the suits, which seek to invalidate thousands of absentee ballot applications that were sent to voters by officials in Linn and Johnson counties and included prewritten information such as voting pin numbers, dates of birth, and names already filled out.
Voters only have to sign and return the ballot applications to receive an early ballot in October that they can file before the election date on Nov. 3.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican, said in July that allowing some counties to send out prewritten ballot applications was problematic because they do not “ensure uniformity.” He added that the ballot applications could provide “an opportunity to question the validity of election results in those counties.”
Kristen Clarke, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Law, fired back at the lawsuits, suggesting that county officials should be lauded for efforts to make sure all voters can cast ballots ahead of Nov. 3.
“Officials should be credited for taking action to streamline the absentee ballot application process to help ensure that more voters are able to be heard this election season,” Clarke told the Associated Press.
President Trump has claimed that the election will be rigged if widespread mail-in voting is allowed.
The lawsuits are another sign that the 2020 election could face weeks, if not months, of challenges from both political parties over the legitimacy of votes cast for president.
