Democrat Rita Hart is filing a notice of contest with the U.S. House of Representatives in Iowa’s District 2 election against her Republican opponent, Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
In a press release posted on Twitter, Hart’s campaign said the notice will be filed Tuesday “outlining why Rita is the winner of this race.”
“Further, the Notice explains why the House should count every legally cast ballot to guarantee fulfillment of each voter’s constitutional right”:
Today, I am officially asking the House to ensure every Iowan’s voice is heard in #IA02.
22 ballots remain uncounted from Election Night & thousands of others that were never examined. We’ve got to count the votes & get this right. pic.twitter.com/hWTsUDHkhy
— Rita Hart (@RitaHartIA) December 22, 2020
“With uncounted ballots remaining, she will ask Congress to fulfill its duty and ensure all voices in Iowa’s Second Congressional District are heard,” the release said.
However, a final recount on November 30 showed Miller-Meeks winning the race by six votes.
In a video posted Tuesday morning, Miller-Meeks said, “The election was a close one. So close, that a recount was done in every county which yielded the same winner. And every vote has been counted under Iowa law and recounted under Iowa law”:
This election has been decided by Iowans.
That decision should not be thrown into Washington’s hyper-partisan atmosphere.
It is shameful that Rita Hart does not have faith in Iowans, and does not respect the decision of Iowa voters. #ia02 pic.twitter.com/neq3kEA058
— Dr. Miller-Meeks (@millermeeks) December 22, 2020
Miller-Meeks added that Hart “wants Washington politicians to override the will of Iowa voters and disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Iowa voters.”
“Instead of choosing to follow the law, Rita Hart is seeking partisan power play,” she stated.
If the House decides to hear Hart’s case, it might create a situation in which all members of Congress would have to vote on whether she should be the official representative in the 2nd District, according to Fox News.
“Now Democrats — holding a razor-thin majority in the House — could be faced with a tough political predicament of deciding whether to let the Iowa results stand or vote to overturn them if a congressional recount comes out in favor of Hart,” the report said.
After Hart announced her plans to challenge the election results, Miller-Meeks told KCCI it shows that “this is a political, partisan process where they’re trying to get votes any way they can get votes whether or not an Iowan cast that ballot.”
