By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the Linn County Auditor can pursue his lawsuit that questions the security of Iowa’s voter registration system.

In 2019, Linn County Auditor Joel Miller, a Democrat, alleged the state’s computerized database of registered voters is potentially vulnerable to cyber threats. Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican, said Miller failed to give an example of a specific security threat and the Iowa Voter Registration Commission dismissed the complaint. The Linn County Auditor filed a lawsuit in 2020 and a district court dismissed the lawsuit last year.

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled Miller has the right to proceed with his lawsuit that questions whether the state’s computerized list of registered voters is vulnerable to hacking.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, in a written statement, said “first and foremost,” he wants to “assure Iowa voters that Iowa’s election systems are secure.” Pate said in the years since Miller’s complaint was filed in 2019, the state has installed “robust cybersecurity measures” in its election systems.

In a statement to The Des Moines Register, Miller said his complaint is still valid because Iowa is “using the same voter registration system that I complained about in 2019.”

Miller, who has served as Linn County Auditor since 2007, is not seeking reelection. In 2022, Miller was the Democrat who ran against Iowa’s Secretary of State and Miller questioned how Pate had spent several million dollars to update Iowa’s computerized voter registration system. Pate, a Republican who also lives and votes in Linn County, won that race with about 60% of the vote.