Judge says Legislature must resolve Iowa House seat dispute
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa judge dismissed on Friday a lawsuit filed by the Democratic challenger to a northeast Iowa House seat who lost the election by nine votes, saying the challenge should be taken up by the House under Iowa law.
The ruling means for the first time in decades a legislative chamber will be called on to decide an election challenge for one of its seats.
Democrat Kayla Koether asked Judge Scott Beattie to order election officials to count 29 mailed absentee ballots that did not have postmarks but did have postal bar code markings that revealed they were mailed on time.