Report to our readers: The recount of ballots in Iowa House District 55

Posted: Wed, Dec 12, 2018 11:52 AM

If you're a news reporter, you realize you're going to run across people who criticize others for doing what they themselves are doing. So when Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate issues a statement criticizing "misinformation being pushed out in the media by political partisans about the Iowa House District 55 election" and then follows that statement by acting like a political partisan—well, it's not something news reporters haven't encountered before.

But at decorahnews.com, we believe our job is to separate facts from opinions. For instance, in our coverage of the Iowa House District 55 legal battle, we've deliberately included copies of court documents with our stories whenever possible, so readers can see the court proceedings for themselves and make their own opinions.

So let's wade into the issues raised by Pate in his news release. Pate says the 29 Winneshiek County ballots the US Postal Service agrees were mailed before November 6th "are not eligible to be counted under Iowa law." However, this issue is for Polk County Judge Scott Beattie to determine—not Pate. The judge might agree with Pate or disagree with him, but the fact is that the judge will make the ruling, not Pate.

And when Pate adds, "I support every eligible vote being counted. Trying to change the rules after an election is not the way elections work in Iowa," he again misses the point—that it is the judge who interprets what Iowa's rules say about which votes to count.

Pate ends by saying, "My job is to be the referee of elections and not side with one candidate or party." We'd say it's the news media's job to not side with one candidate or party—and the fact we're calling out Pate for not having his facts straight doesn't mean we're siding with Democrats. We'd like to point out that the decisions about how to handle ballots cast in Iowa House District 55's election will be made by a judge—and any other opinions don't matter.