WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, the Republican National Committee (RNC) backed a legal challenge to restore critical absentee ballot signature verification protections for Iowa voters.
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RNC joins Iowa GOP push to restore absentee ballot signature
checks
The
Gazette
July 30,
2026
"The
Republican National Committee is seeking to join a Republican Party of Iowa
effort to revive the state’s absentee-ballot signature verification
requirements that have been blocked by the courts since 2018.
The Iowa
GOP filed a petition Thursday asking the Polk County District Court to vacate a
permanent injunction entered in 2019 that prevents election officials from
using signature comparisons to challenge absentee ballot applications and
returned ballot envelopes. The RNC simultaneously filed a motion seeking to
intervene as a defendant in the case.
The RNC
said the effort is part of its nationwide election integrity initiative and
argued signature verification would provide an additional safeguard against
absentee voting fraud.
“Voters
deserve confidence that Iowa’s elections are secure and that absentee ballots
are protected against fraud,” RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said in a statement.
“Democrats fought to block this commonsense safeguard years ago. Now, the RNC
is leading the effort to restore signature verification, secure absentee
voting, and strengthen confidence in Iowa’s elections.”
The
Republican Party of Iowa similarly characterized the court action as an effort
to strengthen election security and prevent fraud.
“Iowans
deserve secure elections — period. That means protecting absentee ballots with
commonsense safeguards that prevent fraud and ensure every legal vote is
counted,” Iowa GOP spokeswoman Jade Cichy said in a statement.
[...]
Asked what
evidence the RNC has of absentee-ballot fraud in Iowa that would have been
prevented by signature matching, officials did not cite a specific case of Iowa
absentee-ballot fraud. Instead, they pointed to what they described as broader
vulnerabilities involving absentee voting nationally and argued safeguards
should be in place before problems occur.
An RNC
official cited cases nationally involving ineligible voters and noncitizens
appearing on voter rolls as part of the committee’s broader concern about
election security.
[...]
The
national party argues it has a legally protected interest in enforcement of
election rules and notes that it has participated in other Iowa election-law
litigation.
RNC
officials said the committee wants the Iowa signature-matching requirements
restored “as soon as possible” and would like them to be in effect for the Nov.
3 midterm election. The Iowa GOP has not yet but is expected to seek expedited
consideration of the case.
The Iowa
litigation is one piece of a substantially broader RNC legal effort over
election laws. Officials said the committee is involved in more than 160 active
election-related cases across 36 states, involving issues including mail
ballots, voter identification, proof of citizenship and voter-roll maintenance.
RNC
officials said the committee has been involved specifically in
signature-matching disputes in Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Washington,
although the legal issues vary by state. Officials also pointed to litigation
over ballot dating requirements.
Beyond
litigation, an RNC official said the committee has election integrity directors
in 22 states and is recruiting poll workers and Election Day observers as part
of its election program..."
