House Democrats are attempting to overturn the twice recounted, state- certified results of a congressional election in Iowa, and state officials are condemning House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “power grab.”
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate penned a letter to Speaker Pelosi asking that she stop the attempted steal of Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ (R-IA) seat, emphasizing that the votes were recounted not once, but twice, and were certified by the bipartisan election commission.
“Our state had the closest U.S. House race in the country, with Mariannette Miller-Meeks defeating Rita Hart. Following a recount in all 24 counties in the Second Congressional District, Miller-Meeks won by six votes. The general election and recounts were conducted in a bipartisan manner. There are 12 Republican county auditors and 12 Democratic county auditors in the Second District. Bipartisan teams of precinct election officials staffed the polling places and processed the absentee ballots. The recount in all 24 counties was bipartisan,” Pate wrote to Pelosi.
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— Mike Berg (@MikeKBerg) March 29, 2021
He added that Hart sidestepped the state’s process to contest election results, the judicial system, and instead chose a partisan route.
“Unfortunately, Rita Hart chose to bypass the nonpartisan Iowa process and take her challenge to the U.S. House of Representatives where her political party has the power to grant her a seat she did not win...Now, Rita Hart is asking you to ‘depart from Iowa law’ and give her an election victory she did not earn. I strongly urge you to reject any attempts to overturn the will of Iowa votes. Mariannette Miller-Meeks is the official U.S. Representative for Iowa’s Second District and is serving the district capably. Let her continue to do the job Iowans elected her to do.”
The House Administration Committee is currently considering the case brought by Hart to challenge the certified results. Pelosi has said that a possible scenario for a duly elected representative, Miller-Meeks, to be unseated certainly exists.