Iowa's ballot access laws need clarity so enforcement isn't arbitrary

Iowa law and Secretary of State guidance is, at best, clear as mud on whether multiunit residence dwellers signing a candidate's nomination signature petition need to include their unit number.

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

Yesterday I watched a live stream of the State Objection Panel that met at the Iowa Statehouse. Let me tell you, it's slightly more interesting than watching paint dry; however, how the panel rules is critical because they can either affirm or deny a candidate's ballot access.

For instance, in 2018, then Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett was booted off the Republican primary ballot for governor after a successful challenge to many of his signatures.

The only way to guarantee that you will survive a challenge is to make sure you far surpass the minimum threshold for getting on the ballot.

For instance, Gov. Kim Reynolds only needed 3,500 signatures, including 100 in 19 counties. 

She was an overachiever.

Team Reynolds @ReynoldsGregg

ICYMI: Gov. @KimReynoldsIA submitted over 16,000 signatures, more than 4X the requirement to get on the ballot. She turned in more than 100 signatures in all 99 counties.

I wrote about the results of the panel's decision at The Iowa Torch. In the end, nothing earth-shattering happened. 

However, had the composition of the State Objection Panel not changed, the results could have been very different for two candidates.