Hunter
05/12/25
Iowa election documents will remain available in English-only, according to a ruling by the state Supreme Court.
The Des Moines Register reports the Court ruled that the Hispanic advocacy Group LULAC lacked the standing to challenge a prior court order.
Under a 2002 law, all official political documents in Iowa must be in English unless “necessary to secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.” In 2008, a district court found that the law applies to election materials such as ballots, voter registration forms and absentee ballot applications, and entered a permanent injunction barring the state from offering them in any language except English.
In 2021, the League of Latin American Citizens sued Secretary of State Paul Pate to overturn that ruling. They said that although the state allowed documents to be printed in Spanish for Buena Vista County due to its large percentage of Spanish-speaking residents, residents who spoke a different language elsewhere in the state could not access voting documents in their native language. The injunction was dissolved by a district court judge in 2023 and allowed state and county officials to provide voting materials in other languages.
Writing for the Court, Judge Christopher McDonald said LULAC lacked the legal grounds to sue.
Secretary of State Paul Pate applauded the ruling, and stated that it provides important clarity for election officials across the state. He also noted that Iowa follows the Federal Voting Rights Act provision that allows translated versions of official government documents and forms in communities where the population thresholds have been met.