DES MOINES, Iowa—Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate quickly responded to a Washington, D.C. based group that claimed there are eight counties in Iowa where the number of registered voters exceed the number of eligible voters.  A press release from Pate’s office Monday afternoon responded to the claims that the numbers in Dallas, Johnson, Lyon, Madison, Poweshiek, Dickinson, Scott and Warren Counties exceed the possible number of eligible voters and Polk County has a nearly 96% voter registration rate.

The press release from the Secretary of State’s office says:

A Washington D.C.-based organization made false claims today in a news release regarding voter registration information in eight Iowa counties. Judicial Watch claims that total registration numbers in these counties are larger than the eligible voter population. Official data compiled by the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office shows this information is false.

“It’s unfortunate this organization continues to put out inaccurate data regarding voter registration, and it’s especially disconcerting they chose the day of the Iowa Caucus to do this,” Secretary Pate said. “My office has told this organization, and others who have made similar claims, that their data regarding Iowa is deeply flawed and their false claims erode voter confidence in elections. They should stop this misinformation campaign immediately and quit trying to disenfranchise Iowa voters.”

Iowa’s voter registration statistics are publicly available on the Secretary of State’s website. They are updated monthly. These numbers show that the ones claimed by Judicial Watch in their news release today are patently false.

Along with their false claims about the voter registration numbers, the organization’s claims about Iowa population are greatly underestimated, according to actual data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Iowa Secretary of State’s Office stands with its county auditors and the methods they use to provide clean and accurate voter rolls.