Iowa, Naturalized Citizens Settle Lawsuit Over Voter Eligibility Ahead of 2024 Election

Agreement prevents state from relying solely on driver's license data to challenge citizenship status of voters

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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Iowa's Secretary of State Paul Pate and a group of naturalized citizens have settled a federal lawsuit that will prevent the state from relying exclusively on driver's license records to challenge the citizenship status of voters in the three months before an election. The settlement comes after a review found only a small fraction of the 2,000 registered voters initially identified as potential non-citizens were actually ineligible to vote.

Why it matters

The case highlights ongoing tensions around voter eligibility and the potential for eligible voters to be wrongly targeted. It also underscores the importance of using accurate and comprehensive data sources to verify citizenship status, rather than relying solely on limited state records.

The details

Under the settlement, Iowa can now use the federal government's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to verify voter citizenship, a tool that was not available to the state prior to the lawsuit. The 2,000-voter list compiled by the state in 2024 has also been rescinded and cannot be used for any future ballot challenges or voter list maintenance efforts.

  • In late October 2024, naturalized U.S. citizens sued Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate.
  • In 2024, a review of Iowa's voter rolls found 35 non-citizens out of more than 1.6 million voters, and 277 non-citizens registered to vote out of nearly 2.3 million.
  • The settlement was signed by both parties and filed in court on Wednesday, February 11, 2026.

The players

Paul Pate

Iowa's Secretary of State, a Republican who directed election workers to challenge ballots from about 2,000 registered voters identified as potential non-citizens.

Rita Bettis Austen

The ACLU of Iowa's legal director, who saw the settlement as a win for protecting the rights of naturalized citizens to vote.

Brenna Bird

Iowa's Republican Attorney General, who called the outcome a victory for the state's use of federal databases to verify voter rolls.

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What they’re saying

“The overwhelming majority of voters wrongly put on this list, including all our clients, are naturalized United States citizens who have the right to vote. We are hopeful today's settlement will safeguard Iowans from this happening again in future elections.”

— Rita Bettis Austen, ACLU of Iowa's legal director

“We are now using federal databases to verify Iowa's voter rolls.”

— Paul Pate, Iowa Secretary of State

What’s next

The settlement must still be accepted by a federal judge.

The takeaway

This case highlights the importance of using comprehensive and accurate data sources to verify voter eligibility, rather than relying solely on limited state records that can lead to the wrongful targeting of eligible voters, especially naturalized citizens.