So Abby Finkenauer is off the primary ballot.

[progressoid]

Judge Scott Beattie ruled on April 10 that the State Objection Panel used the wrong legal standard when it counted signatures with missing or incorrect dates. Consequently, the court found, Finkenauer’s campaign “has failed to submit at least 100 signatures from at least 19 counties” as required by Iowa law.

...

The Attorney General’s office has not confirmed whether the state will appeal, but that seems likely, based on how it defends other lawsuits against state entities.

Plaintiffs Kim Schmett and Leanne Pellett challenged one signature from Allamakee County, where a voter had listed the zip code instead of the date, and two signatures from Cedar County: one with no date, and another apparently dated “6-6” instead of “2-6.”

Judge Beattie’s opinion rejected the state’s argument that the State Objection Panel’s decisions are not reviewable under the Iowa Administrative Procedure Act, “as the Panel is not an agency” under the relevant code chapter.

The court also rejected an argument the Finkenauer campaign raised as an intervenor in the case: that Schmett and Pellett lacked standing to bring the suit, since registered Republicans can’t vote in Iowa Democratic primaries.

read more...https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2022/04/11/judge-rules-abby-finkenauer-should-be-off-primary-ballot/