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A federal judge has rejected a request from two civil rights groups and four naturalized citizens to block the Iowa secretary of state's office from using a list of potential noncitizens registered to vote ahead of Tuesday's election.Late last month, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate sent a letter to the county auditors in some or all of Iowa's 99 counties, saying that his office had identified more than 2,000 registered voters who may not actually be U.S. citizens. He said the secretary of state's office reviewed voter registration data and compared it with data provided by the Iowa Department of Transportation and found 2,176 registered voters who had, at some point, told the DOT they were not U.S. citizens.Pate directed the county auditors to challenge the ballots of any person on the list who attempts to vote in the 2024 general election and, instead, provide them with provisional ballots so that their eligibility can be verified before the ballot is counted. Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union and the League of United Latin American Citizens filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of four naturalized U.S. citizens who were on Pate's list, seeking to block the secretary of state's order. The motion for a restraining order and preliminary injunction alleged that Pate's actions violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. On Sunday afternoon, two days before Election Day, U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa filed an order denying the ACLU and LULAC's motion.In the 17-page ruling, Locher wrote that the U.S. Supreme Court recently stayed an injunction, effectively lifting it, in a Virginia case where 1,600 voters were removed from the voter rolls "based on a mismatch between voter registration information and one or more agency databases." Locher noted that Pate's orders did not remove anyone from voter rolls; they just required the voters on the list to use provisional ballots. Another recent Supreme Court decision to not hear a Pennsylvania case regarding the handling of provisional ballots "counsels the Court to act with great caution before awarding last-minute injunctive relief into how Iowa officials handle election issues."Locher did note that he had some "concerns" about whether Pate's letter was "consistent with Iowa law in certain important respects," but those concerns were relieved when a hearing was held. Locher wrote that he was concerned about Pate's order to local election officials to challenge the ballots of each person on the list, even when the local officials themselves don't suspect the individual is ineligible to vote, and that Pate would require the voters on the list to file provisional ballots even when they had proven their citizenship status at their polling place. However, Locher noted that Pate has since "backed away from those positions."Locher wrote that the secretary of state's office is no longer challenging the voting eligibility of the four plaintiffs in the case: Orcun Selcuk, Alan Gwilliam, Tingting Zhen and Michael Brokloff. Locher wrote that since Pate's office dropped its challenge of the plaintiffs' eligibility to vote after they submitted sworn statements on their citizenship status, that move implies that if a voter provides "sufficient information" to verify their citizenship status, requiring them to use a provisional ballot "is not necessary or appropriate."Counsel for Pate's office also indicated that local election officials can use their own independent judgment based on information available to the official and are not required to challenge the ballots of any voter on the list provided by Pate. Locher also dismissed the plaintiffs' claim that Pate's letter violated equal protection rights related to national origin, stating that there are more than 79,000 naturalized citizens in Iowa, including more than 32,000 who were naturalized between 2013 and 2022, and that the list was based on the "mismatch" of information from the voter rolls and DOT rather than on national origin.Locher also wrote "it appears to be undisputed that some portion of the names on Secretary Pate's list are indeed registered voters who are not United States citizens," though that number is less than 12%. He wrote that if he were to grant injunctive relief, local election officials would effectively be required to allow those individuals to vote. Several Iowa leaders released statements following the judge’s ruling.Gov. Kim Reynolds: “Today’s ruling is a victory for election integrity. In Iowa, while we encourage all citizens to vote, we will enforce the law and ensure those votes aren’t cancelled out by the illegal vote of a non-citizen.”Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird: “Today's court victory is a guarantee for all Iowans that their votes will count and not be canceled out by illegal votes. I was glad to lead the fight in court to defend Iowa’s long-standing election integrity laws. Only American citizens can vote in Iowa elections.” Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate: “Today’s ruling from the Federal District Court is a win for Iowa’s election integrity. U.S. elections are for U.S. citizens, and ensuring only eligible voters participate in Iowa’s election process is essential to protecting the integrity of the vote. The role of Iowa Secretary of State requires balance – ensuring that on one hand, every eligible voter is able to cast their ballot while also ensuring that only eligible voters participate in Iowa elections. Both of these are critical components to Iowa election integrity.We applaud the district court for this decision. As stated in the official ruling, it is undisputed that there are a number of noncitizens who are registered to vote, and awarding the injunction would force local election officials to permit those individuals to vote.We continue to seek clarity on the citizenship status of the individuals who have self-reported as noncitizens, and once again urge the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Washington D.C. to permit the Iowa field office to release this clarifying information to us which is critical to ensuring only U.S. citizens vote in our elections.”Statement from Rita Bettis Austen, ACLU of Iowa Legal Director: "We are obviously disappointed with the court’s decision not to outright block Secretary Pate's directive, which we still fear threatens to disenfranchise eligible voters simply because they are people who became citizens in the past several years. Even the Secretary agrees that the vast majority of voters on his list are United States citizens. That said, we are glad that our litigation has produced some positive developments. In particular, we are glad that our clients — the brave individuals who are standing up to this unlawful challenge of their right to vote — will be able to cast regular ballots. We are also glad that the court forced Secretary Pate to ‘back away’ from his position in the directive and no longer require that everyone on the list be forced to vote provisionally only. Now, county auditors ‘may exercise their own independent judgment based on information available to the official’ to permit a voter on the list to cast a regular ballot. And, anyone who is challenged who can prove they are a citizen with documentation will be able to vote a regular ballot. Meanwhile, we encourage every citizen–and especially our new fellow citizens– to go vote in this week’s presidential election. Voting is your right. If you need more information, contact your local county auditor or check out our Iowa Know Your Voting Rights information at https://www.aclu-ia.org/en/vote. If you experience problems at the polls, the ACLU would like to hear from you at legal.program@aclu-ia.org."Statement from Joe Enriquez Henry, state political director of the League of United Latin American Citizens Iowa: “We don’t want new U.S. citizens to be intimated. Our message is: Make sure your vote counts on Election Day this Tuesday, November 5. For now, be prepared to show your papers documenting your citizenship, whether that is a US passport or certificate of naturalization from USCIS. But rest assured, we will continue the fight to support your right as a U.S. citizen to be treated equally on Election Day. Although we are disheartened by the judge’s decision to not grant an injunction, we are thankful for the lawsuit, which put pressure on Secretary Pate to acknowledge the right of naturalized citizens to vote in this election.”