A Democratic candidate for US Senate in Iowa has been kicked on June’s Democratic primary ballot after a judge ruled she didn’t have enough valid signatures on her nominating petition. ​​

It was on late Sunday when Polk County District Judge Scott Beattie​ said that Abby Finkenauer could not take part in the June 7 primary to determine which Democrat will face Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who is seeking his eighth term.

The Des Moines Register reported:

“The ruling late Sunday night, which reverses a state panel’s decision, is a major setback for Finkenauer, who is competing for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley. Finkenauer, who has been widely considered the frontrunner in the Democratic primary, said Monday she would appeal the decision to the Iowa Supreme Court, casting it as ‘deeply partisan.’”

Finkenauer will likely appeal the decision to the Iowa Supreme Court, but the ruling is a reversal of the decision made by a State Objections Panel in March — at that time, the panel upheld Finkenauer’s nominating petition and rejected objections to her place on the ballot.

In a prepared statement on Monday morning, Finkenauer blasted the decision as a partisan attack. She said her campaign was exploring options to appeal the decision.

The primary will be held on June 7 and absentee voting will begin on May 18.

NEW: Former congresswoman Abby Finkenauer cannot appear on Iowa’s June 7 Democrat primary ballot for U.S. Senate. A judge ruled yesterday she failed to meet the legal signature requirement. Appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court expected.

— Jeff Stein (@iowapolitics) April 11, 2022

An Iowa court judge has ruled that Democrat Abby Finkenauer cannot appear on the June primary ballot for U.S. Senate, potentially knocking off the candidate considered by many to be the party’s best chance to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley.https://t.co/sY2nSl7hvE

— The Associated Press (@AP) April 11, 2022

The Finkenauer campaign said in a statement:

“Our campaign submitted more than 5,000 signatures, 1,500 more signatures than are required to qualify for the ballot. We are confident that we have met the requirements to be on the ballot.”

“We are exploring all of our options to fight back hard against this meritless partisan attack, and to ensure that the voices of Iowans will be heard at the ballot box.”

In order to appear on the ballot, U.S. Senate candidates in Iowa need at least 3,500 signatures, including at least 100 signatures from 19 counties.

When she filed her papers, Finkenauer had six counties that had 105 signatures or less, and after some signatures were struck in a hearing over an objection, she was left with 100 signatures in Allamakee County and 101 in Cedar County.

Objectors argued three signatures in those counties should have been struck, which would have disqualified Finkenauer from the ballot. They also argued the panel did not rule the same way on similar signatures.

Here’s what Finkenauer said of the judge’s ruling:

“In a massive gift to Washington Republicans, this partisan decision overrules both the Republican secretary of state’s office and the bipartisan panel, ignores decades of precedent, interferes in the electoral process, and makes a mockery of our democracy.”

Last month, a state panel found Finkenauer met the requirement, but Republicans argued the panel incorrectly allowed three signatures that did not include the date.

In a written statement, Judge Beattie disagreed with the panel’s interpretation of the law and ruled that the signatures should not be allowed to count.

“The Court takes no joy in this conclusion. This Court should not be in the position to make a difference in an election, and Ms. Finkenauer and her supporters should have a chance to advance her candidacy. However, this Court’s job is to sit as a referee and apply the law without passion or prejudice. It is required to rule without consideration of the politics of the day.”

“It does not say that the date may be inferred or extrapolated from the context. The plain and obvious meaning is that the signature should be accompanied by a date indicating when it was signed. Failure to include the date means the signature is not valid.”

On other hand, it is a complete victory for the rule of law as described by an attorney for the Republican challengers, Alan Ostergren:

“The judge’s order carefully analyzed the requirement under Iowa law that a petition signature is dated by the signer. He agreed with our argument that the panel could not simply ignore that requirement. This is a victory for the rule of law. Iowans expect candidates to follow state law and to follow the same rules as the hundreds of other candidates who successfully qualified to be on the ballot.”

Meanwhile, Democrats were accused of questioning the integrity of Iowa’s election system. Kollin Crompton, communications director for the Republican Party of Iowa, said in a statement:

“For people who have spent a whole year lecturing others on how words are violence and how dangerous rhetoric can be, attacking our judicial system in an attempt to cover up for campaign failures is pretty rich.” 

Sources: Conservativebrief, Des Moines Register