Here's how the Iowa House of Representatives will handle Kayla Koether's appeal

Posted: Wed, Jan 9, 2019 1:04 PM

Iowa House Speaker Linda Upmeyer says Republican Michael Bergen, who has a 9-vote lead over Democrat Kayla Koether in the Iowa House District 55 election, will be sworn into office on Monday, then a special committee will be appointed to handle Koether's petition that 29 absentee ballots cast in the election be counted.

Upmeyer spoke Wednesday morning in Urbandale to a meeting of the Westside Conservative Breakfast Club, a speech which was covered by Radio Iowa. (https://www.radioiowa.com/2019/01/09/special-committee-to-review-contested-house-district-55-race/) The news organization says Upmeyer responded to a question from the audience by outlining how she will handle the petition filed by Koether.

Republicans and Democrats will be appointed to the special committee, with Republicans being in the majority. Upmeyer says a majority of the committee members will be Republicans because Republicans hold a majority of seats in the Iowa House.

Once the special committee makes a recommendation, all 100 members of the Iowa House will vote on the recommendation.

In early December, Bergen was certified as defeating Democrat Koether, however US Postal Service officials later determined that 29 mailed-in absentee ballots were mailed by the deadline. Koether's petition to the state legislature asks that those 29 ballots be counted.