Iowa
Iowa Supreme Court affirms decision keeping Libertarian candidates off ballot • Iowa Capital Dispatch
Libertarian candidates running for office in three of Iowa’s congressional districts will not appear on the 2024 general election ballot, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The expedited ruling came just one day after the justices heard oral arguments on the case about whether candidates Nicholas Gluba in 1st Congressional District, Marco Battaglia in the 3rd District and Charles Aldrich in the 4th District would be put back on the ballot. The Libertarian congressional candidates were removed in late August by the State Objections Panel in a 2-1 decision over the state party’s failure to conduct its nominating process in accordance with state law.
Iowa voters, several of whom hold GOP leadership positions in the state, challenged the three candidates’ nominations on the basis that the Libertarian Party of Iowa held its county conventions too early for delegates to take action. The state Libertarian Party, which regained major party status in 2022, held both its precinct caucuses and county conventions Jan. 15.
Iowa Code states convention delegates elected at precinct caucuses do not officially take the position until the following day, meaning these conventions — as well as the June 8 special nominating conventions — were improper, the objectors argued.
The state panel sided with the voters’ objections, removing the three congressional candidates from the ballot. Gluba, Battaglia and Aldrich asked for judicial review of the decision — after a district court judge upheld the panel’s decision Saturday, the case moved to the state Supreme Court.
In Tuesday arguments, attorneys representing the Libertarian candidates said the county conventions were not conducted in full accordance with state law, but that the process was done with “substantial” compliance that should meet the state’s standards for getting candidates onto the ballot. However, attorneys representing the panel and objecting voters said “strict” compliance with Iowa laws should be enforced to ensure “regularity” in the nominating and election processes.
The Iowa Supreme Court upheld the district court’s decision in the Wednesday ruling. The state Supreme Court decision stood with the interpretation that “strict” compliance is required with the Iowa Code involving partisan nominations.
“Gluba, Battaglia, and Aldrich could have qualified for the November general election ballot by filing nomination petitions with signatures like the other political party candidates,” justices wrote in the decision. “They relied instead on an alternative procedure afforded by Iowa law. Having done so, they had to be in compliance with that procedure. In sum, like the district court, we find that strict compliance was required and the Libertarian Party did not comply.”
Jennifer DeKock, the lawyer representing Battaglia, argued Tuesday that Libertarian county conventions were conducted just over three hours — 181 minutes — prior to when the process would have complied with state law, beginning at midnight.
“Does the failure to wait 181 minutes after caucus to begin convention justify kicking Libertarian candidates off the ballot, and violating Iowa voters’ constitutional rights to political opportunity?” DeKock asked.
The justices state that the argument that the rule requiring precinct caucuses and county conventions are held on separate days is “arbitrary and hyper-technical” could apply to many of the rules governing elections.
“Why require forty-seven signatures from at least half of the counties?” the opinion stated. “Why should that matter if a candidate has several thousand signatures and the entire district elects the representative? Gluba, Battaglia, and Aldrich do not contend that the two-day requirement would have been too burdensome for the Libertarian Party to meet; it just wasn’t met here.”
The decision came quickly by request of the Iowa Secretary of State’s office, which must certify ballots for the upcoming Nov. 5 election. While the ballots were initially supposed to be certified Sept. 3, the district court judge overseeing the Libertarians’ court challenge granted a temporary injunction on finalizing the ballots.
With the Iowa Supreme Court decision, the state office will be able to move forward with finalizing the candidates appearing on the 2024 general election ballots in time for Sept. 21, when ballots must be certified and ready for overseas and military voters.
While the candidates will not appear on state ballots, all three congressional candidates plan to move forward with write-in campaigns for the general election, Battaglia and Aldrich told reporters Tuesday.
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A 14-year-old Dyersville girl has died from injuries caused by a watercraft collision on Clear Lake on the 4th of July.
The crash involved five people in two personal watercrafts and occurred around 5:30 p.m. near the McIntosh Woods State Park boat ramp on a part of the lake called Little Lake, according to a release from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Passengers on a nearby pontoon immediately helped the victims before the Iowa DNR water patrol and conservation officers, Ventura and Clear Lake fire departments, Iowa State Patrol, Clear Lake Police Department and the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office came on scene.
The release does not give the names of the four children involved.
A 35-year-old woman, an 11-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy, all from Greenwood, South Carolina, were treated at the Mercy-One Medical Center in Mason City and released on July 4. A 15-year-old Mason City girl was transferred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and is in serious condition.
While the investigation is ongoing, Iowa DNR officers have ruled out alcohol or other impairments as contributing factors to the crash, the release states.
Isabelle Foland is a communities reporter for the Register. Reach her at ifoland@registermedia.com.
As the Iowa State Cyclones get set for the 2026 campaign, the program is also looking toward the future and rebuilding a program that was hit hard by departures.
Last season, Iowa State battled a lot of injuries, but was still able to have a pretty good year. However, following the campaign coming to an end and before bowl season kicked off, the team lost head coach Matt Campbell to the Penn State Nittany Lions.
As expected, a lot of players from the program ended up leaving, leaving the team with nearly an entire roster to rebuild. However, new head coach Jimmy Rogers has been able to come in and make a good impression early on.
While Iowa State might not be as talented as they were last year, they have a good coach and a lot of depth. The Cyclones will be hoping that he can develop and get the most out of some of these new players, but the team certainly won’t be competing for a Big 12 title next season.
For Iowa State, with at least this year being a rebuild for the program, they will be looking toward the future. With that comes a need to recruit well, and that is something Rogers and the staff have been impressive at so far.
Iowa State Recruiting Class Shaping Up Nicely
Following the four-star addition of Chuck Alexander, who flipped from the Louisville Cardinals, the 2027 recruiting class is looking really strong right now for Iowa State. According to Rivals, they rank 49th in the country right now, and that is a strong place to be for the team.
With Alexander being the new top recruit for the team, he will be joining a class that has been highlighted by some good offensive talent so far. Running back Isaiah Hansen is regarded as a very good player at his position, and the team also has offensive lineman Will Slagle.
With the three top recruits so far being offensive players, a future core might be starting to come together for Rogers and the program. While the team might be a bit more defensive-minded this year, there is clearly a focus on improving offensively for the future.
Overall, with time still to go, this class could continue to get better. However, it is really encouraging to see what Rogers and the staff have been able to accomplish so far. Recruiting will be key for Iowa State to get back to where they want to be, and they are off to a strong start.
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SOLON, IOWA — As holiday weekend crowds head to Iowa lakes and rivers, state and national law enforcement agencies are urging boaters to make safety a priority — especially when it comes to alcohol and drugs on the water.
The push is part of Operation Dry Water, a national awareness campaign aimed at deterring impaired boating, reducing alcohol and drug-related incidents, and enforcing Iowa’s boating while intoxicated laws.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources officials say the holiday weekend is a time when they often see a spike in enforcement activity. Last year, the Iowa DNR reported interacting with more than 1,200 vessels and issued 382 citations.
Rachel Allis, the Iowa DNR’s boating education coordinator, said conditions on the water can intensify impairment.
“We don’t realize the effect the sun, water, the waves have. Simply stated, you can get dehydrated much quicker when you’re out on your boats,” Allis said. “So, all of those compounds with medication and everything else, so impaired drivers are really what we’re on the lookout for and what we’re concerned for. Nationally, about a third of all incidents occur with an impaired driver.”
At Lake Macbride State Park, boaters and paddlers said they’re also taking steps to avoid trouble on busy waterways.
“All of us love to be out here in nature and Macbride is so pretty. So, it’s just a good togetherness function,” said Angela Ranaud, who was kayaking during the holiday weekend. “Fisherman, we try to stay away from them, so we don’t interfere their catching. We try to stay away from the wakes; they tend to capsize. Other than that kayaks a pretty low danger type of sport, so we just like to be out in the water.”
Corey Scott, a holiday boater at Lake Macbride, said the lake’s horsepower restriction helps keep speeds down between Memorial Day and Labor Day, but he still watches closely for smaller craft and stressed the importance of sober operation.
“Macbride is nice and easy, 9.9 horsepower between Memorial Day and Labor Day,” Scott said. “So, that’s the nice part you don’t have people speeding up and down and everywhere, so really the only thing to look out for is anybody on paddleboats, kayaks, things like that. Again, out here people say well you’re only going 9.9 so it’s not ‘hey you can have a few beers’ and stuff like that; but that’s the main thing to be aware of. Making sure you have a sober driver and just be aware of your surroundings.”
To learn more about boater safety visit Iowa’s DNR website.
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