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Iowa Settles Lawsuit, Protects Voter Rights Ahead of 2024

2/12/2026

Summary

Story summary

Paul Pate, Iowa Secretary of State, settled a lawsuit with naturalized citizens wrongly flagged as noncitizens ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The agreement prevents the state from using driver’s license records exclusively for citizenship verification in the months before elections.
The ACLU of Iowa called the settlement a victory for voter rights.
Pate said Iowa will use federal databases for voter verification.
The court has not accepted the settlement.

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Story summary

Paul Pate, Iowa Secretary of State, settled a lawsuit with naturalized citizens wrongly flagged as noncitizens ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The agreement prevents the state from using driver’s license records exclusively for citizenship verification in the months before elections.
The ACLU of Iowa called the settlement a victory for voter rights.
Pate said Iowa will use federal databases for voter verification.
The court has not accepted the settlement.