Hunter
03/18/26
A former Iowa City man has been cleared on two counts of election misconduct.
The Gazette reports Emmanuel Gathua was found not guilty last week by a Johnson County jury of registering to vote and voting in the November 2023 elections in the county while allegedly not being a US citizen.
The case was one of six brought by the Iowa Attorney General’s Office over allegations of improper voting without full US citizenship.
In March of last year, Secretary of State Paul Pate used state and federal immigration documentation to determine 277 individuals without full US citizenship either illegally voted or registered to vote in Iowa in recent elections. That list was turned over to Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird’s office, who charged six individuals with two counts of election misconduct. The offense is a Class D felony, meaning the individuals face up to ten years in prison if found guilty.
Gathua and another individual have been found not guilty. Another was found guilty but requested and granted a new trial; one was found guilty but given a deferred judgement. Two others, one involving a Johnson County resident, remain outstanding.