Lawsuit threatened over incomplete registration forms

Iowa Republicans are threatening to sue the state if county auditors accept incomplete registration forms. Secretary of State Chet Culver, a democrat, is telling county auditors to accept voter registration forms even if voters fail to check the U.S. citizenship box. Last week, Iowa’s Attorney General said it was o-kay to accept the forms as long as the voter signed at the bottom to signify they are eligible to vote. Senate President Jeff Lamberti, a republican from Ankeny, says that’s a clear violation of state and federal law. “If Chet Culver is incapable of upholding Iowa election laws, he ought to resign and let someone else do it (who) can,” Lamberti says. But Charlie Krogmeier, Culver’s deputy, says that’s not the case. He says they’re simply following a legal opinion handed down by the Attorney General’s office.”I don’t think we’re changing the rules in the middle of the game or anything like that,” Krogmeier says. “I think we’re trying to clarify the rules.” Republican party lawyers will wait to see if county auditors count the disputed registration forms from about 360 Iowans before deciding whether to sue.