The strength and future of our democracy depends on the faith we have in our elections. Every American — every one of us — has the right to have our legally cast vote counted. Rarely has the importance of this foundational principle been more starkly apparent than in the November 2020 Congressional race between Rita Hart and Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Iowa’s 2nd District. With a gap of just 6 votes, it is essential that the results accurately reflect the will of the voters. We must have confidence in our election processes, whether our preferred candidate wins or loses.
In the rush to finalize last November’s election results, some 2nd District polling officials failed to include a significant number of legally cast ballots in the vote count. The Hart campaign specifically identifies 22 of these, including 9 from Marion County, that were mistakenly excluded from the election results. The Miller-Meeks Campaign does not dispute the validity of these votes.
Miller-Meeks claims Hart bypassed Iowa election dispute processes in her efforts to resolve this discrepancy. However, it has been demonstrated that the processes defined in Iowa law are inadequate to the task of resolving this election dispute in a timely manner. Thus, Hart has appropriately filed her complaint with the U.S. House of Representatives under Federal Contested Elections Act. On March 10, the House Committee on Administration voted to reject Miller-Meeks’ motion to dismiss Hart’s contest and commenced an investigation. Now it is up to the Hart campaign to provide sufficient and credible evidence to demonstrate that Hart is, indeed, the winner.
Throughout this dispute, Rita Hart has dedicated her efforts to making sure that every Iowa vote counts. Let’s support her as she makes our voices heard!
Louise Esveld
Pella