No.12147831 PB
Attorney Marc Elias Leads Democrat Effort to Overturn House Race in Iowa’s 2nd District
Responding to this from a post last night. Already in notables, just FYI on this case.
https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-iowa-mariannette-miller-meeks-elections-
Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks finished ahead of Democrat Rita Hart in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District after a recount saw her 47-vote lead steadily dwindle to single digits.
The state Board of Canvass voted 5-0 Monday afternoon to certify Miller-Meeks as the winner over Hart by a count of 196,964 to 196,958.
https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-iowa-mariannette-miller-meeks-elections-iowa-city-
Iowa Democrat to challenge 6-vote loss in appeal to US House
By RYAN J. FOLEYDecember 2, 2020
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Democratic congressional candidate who trailed by six votes after a recount said Wednesday she will forgo further legal challenges in Iowa and instead appeal directly to the U.S. House for additional recount proceedings.
Rita Hart’s campaign had until Wednesday afternoon to contest the election under Iowa law following Monday’s certification of results in which Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks was declared the winner of the closest House race in decades.
An election contest in Iowa would have set in motion the formation of a five-judge panel that would have been required to rule on who won the race by Tuesday, Dec. 8.
Hart’s campaign said that quick timeline would not allow enough time to review all the ballots, including thousands of unexamined undervotes and overvotes and a small number of others that were not counted for a variety of reasons.
https://ballotpedia.org/Recount_laws_in_Iowa
Iowa recount procedures
Iowa does not require automatic recounts.
Requested recount procedures
Any candidate may request a recount. If the margin of victory separating candidates is 50 votes or 1% of the total number of votes cast, whichever is greater, the state covers the cost of the recount.
In all other instances, the candidate is responsible for costs associated with the recount. Costs paid by the candidate are refunded if the recount changes the election outcome.
Voter(s) may request a recount on a ballot measure by submitting a petition under the following guidelines:
“ The petition shall be signed by the greater of not less than ten eligible electors or a number of eligible electors equaling one percent of the total number of votes cast upon the public measure. Each petitioner must be a person who was entitled to vote on the public measure in question or would have been so entitled if registered to vote. [2]
”
—IA Code § 50.49 (2019)
The voter(s) making the request are responsible for costs associated with the recount. State law does not mention whether voter(s) are refunded if the recount changes the election outcome.
In the above two instances, the recount can be requested up to three days after the county canvass. The deadline for completion is 18 days after the county canvass.
An election official may also request a recount paid for by the state if he or she suspects voting equipment malfunctions or receives reports of counting errors. State law does not specify deadlines for the completion of such a requested recount but does indicate that the request may be made after the canvass.
Iowa's 2nd Congressional District covers most of the southeastern part of the state including Iowa City.
https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/pdf/covotesystem.pdf
(voting systems by county)
Iowa City- (Johnson County)
Appanoose- Precincts: 12 Dominion ImageCast Precinct v.5.0.1 US, hw version 320A
Cedar- Precincts: 12 Dominion ImageCast Precinct v.5.0.1 US, hw version 320A
Clarke- Precincts: 7 Unisyn OVO v 2.0
Clinton- Precincts: 26 ES&S DS200 V. 2.12.0.2
Davis- Precincts: 8 Unisyn OVO v. 2.0
Decatur- Precincts: 7 Unisyn OVO 2. 2.0
Des Moines- Precincts: 16 Unisyn OVO v. 2.0
Henry- Precincts: 9 Unisyn OVO v. 2.0
Jasper- Precincts: 20 ES&S DS200 V. 2.12.3.0
Jefferson- Precincts: 12 Unisyn OVO v. 2.0
Johnson- Precincts: 57 ES&S DS200 v. 2.12.3.0
Keokuk- Precincts: 15 Unisyn OVO v. 2.0
Lee- Precincts: 22 ES&S DS200 v.2.12.0.2
Louisa- Precincts: 5 Unisyn OVO v. 2.0
Lukas- Precincts: 7 Dominion ImageCast Precinct v. 5.0.1 US, hw version 320A
Mahaska- Precincts: 11 Unisyn OVO v. 1.3
Marion- Precincts: 17 Unisyn OVO v. 1.3
Monroe- Precincts: 7 Unisyn OVO v. 1.3
Muscatine- Precincts: 23 ES&S DS200 v. 2.12.3.0
Scott- Precincts: 63 ES&S DS200 v. 2.12.3.0
Van Buren- Precincts 8 ES&S M100 v.5.2.1.0
Wapello- Precincts 11 ES&S DS200 v 2.12.3.0
Washington- Precincts 10 Unisyn OVO v. 1.3
Wayne- Precincts 4 Dominion ImageCast Precinct v. 5.0.1 US, hw version 320A