Iowa attorney general appeals decision allowing non-English voting materials

[RandySF]

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is appealing a judge’s decision that cleared the way for election officials to offer non-English voting materials to the public.

“We are appealing the district court’s decision against the Secretary of State’s Office to protect election integrity and defend state law,” Bird said Wednesday in a written statement. “The Iowa English Language Reaffirmation Act is clear: All official documents are to be written in English — including voter registration forms. We look forward to arguing our case in court to uphold the act and secure the integrity of our elections.”

Under the district court’s June 29 ruling, Iowa counties are allowed, at their discretion, to provide citizens with non-English ballots, voter-registration forms and absentee ballot applications. The decision dissolved a 15-year-old injunction that had previously blocked the practice.

The court’s ruling grew out of a lawsuit filed on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa (LULAC). The lawsuit challenged the state’s application of the English Language Reaffirmation Act to election materials. The act, which was signed into law by Gov. Tom Vilsack in 2002, requires that all political documents from the state “shall be in the English language” unless the materials are deemed “​​necessary to secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.”



https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/iowa-attorney-general-appeals-decision-allowing-non-english-voting-materials