Voters fill out their ballots for the upcoming general election at the Polk County Election Office in Des Moines on the first day of early voting, Oct. 16, 2024. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
The Iowa Secretary of State’s office has determined that a spelling error on some Polk County ballots on a proposed constitutional amendment will not invalidate these ballots.
When early voting began Oct. 16, some ballots in Polk County were found to have contained a typo in its language on the gubernatorial line of succession amendment. A single word, “until,” was misspelled as “unitl” on at least some ballots cast in early voting.
The Polk County Auditor’s Office did not respond to requests for answers on how many ballots contained the error, or if the typo also appeared on absentee ballots that were sent out beginning Oct. 16.
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A spokesperson with the Secretary of State’s office said their legal team had determined the ballots will still be valid after investigating the issue and speaking with Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald. The state office’s understanding is that Polk County did not reprint the ballots.
At early voting sites in Polk County, including the Polk County Election Office in Des Moines, a version of the ballot with the corrected language has been posted. While constitutional amendments presented to voter are required to contain the same language approved by the state legislature, the misspelling of the word did not change the intention of the language.
The language in question is one of two amendments to the Iowa State Constitution that voters will consider in the 2024 general election. One proposal changes language on age and citizenship eligibility requirements to vote. The other relates to the ability to appoint a new lieutenant governor if the current lieutenant governor becomes the Iowa governor, as was the case when Gov. Kim Reynolds took the office following Gov. Terry Branstad’s departure to serve as U.S. ambassador to China.
Following approval during two consecutive general assemblies, the final step in amending Iowa’s constitution requires a simple majority of voters to approve the language during a general election.
The state constitution requires that lawmakers “submit such proposed amendment or amendments to the people” before amendments are made — meaning electors must be presented the same language that was approved by state lawmakers.
However, Iowa Code provides some discretion for county auditors in how they present constitutional amendments to voters. Iowa law allows for a separate ballot if constitutional amendments, public measures and names of candidates other than presidential electors cannot fit onto a single ballot.
It also allows the state commissioners of elections, the Secretary of State and county auditors, to provide written summaries of an amendment — separate wording from the language approved by lawmakers. In these circumstances, elections officials are required have the amendment language in its entirety “printed and displayed prominently in at least one place within the voting precinct, and inside each voting booth” — as is posted in Polk County early voting spaces.
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