Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed several bills strengthening the integrity of the state’s elections on Monday, one of which prohibits the use of ranked-choice voting. The new statute makes Iowa the 17th state to bar the practice.
“I commend the Iowa Legislature and Governor Reynolds for recognizing the importance of these bills in strengthening and maintaining Iowa’s election integrity,” Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said in a statement. “These new laws add additional layers of integrity to our robust election procedures, supporting our efforts to balance election integrity and voter participation.”
HF 954 stipulates that “[a]n election in this state shall not be conducted using ranked choice voting or instant runoff voting.” The prohibition will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
Under RCV, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of first-choice votes in the first round of voting, the last-place finisher is eliminated, and his votes are reallocated to the voter’s second-choice candidate. This process continues until one candidate receives a majority of votes.
RCV has largely been pushed by Democrats as a way of winning traditionally Republican seats and has regularly produced inaccurate election results and high rates of discarded ballots. Other states to prohibit RCV’s use in elections this year include Arkansas, Kansas, North Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
The RCV prohibition was but one provision included in HF 954 designed to secure the Hawkeye State’s elections.
According to the left-wing Iowa Capital Dispatch, the bill — which was reportedly proposed by Pate — “better allow[s] his office to check the citizenship status and other eligibility requirements of those on Iowa’s voter rolls.”
“The bill gives the Secretary of State’s office the ability to contract with federal and state agencies, and with private entities, for voter roll verification and maintenance, in addition to setting up a process for setting a voter’s registration status as ‘unconfirmed’ when the state or county officials have received information from a ‘reliable source’ that the person is not qualified to vote,” the report reads.
As The Federalist’s Breth Brelje reported, Pate’s office revealed in March that an audit of the state’s voter rolls “found 277 noncitizens registered to vote or actually voted” in the 2024 elections.
Reynolds also signed HF 928, which the Iowa Capital Dispatch noted “makes changes to Iowa’s system for election recounts, including setting new limits on who can request recounts.”
For more election news and updates, visit electionbriefing.com.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood