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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Kevin McCarthy stated on November 5, 2020 in on \'The Ingraham Angle\': In Iowa, \"they have allowed a little over 300 people to re-vote.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"pants- fire\\"](\\" * Elections * California * Iowa * Kevin McCarthy By Lyle Muller November 6, 2020 # Claim about people \'re-voting\' in Iowa 2020 election is wrong #### If Your Time is short * House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on the Fox News Channel program, The Ingraham Angle, that Iowa allowed 300 people in its 2nd Congressional District to vote more than once. * The unofficial vote total in that district changed from giving a Republican the apparent win to giving the seat to a Democrat. * A clerical error was made in the initial vote report on election night but no voter fraud existed, election officials said. See the sources for this fact-check House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) was talking on conservative commentator Laura Ingraham’s Fox News Channel show, The Ingraham Angle, on Nov. 5 about Republican claims of possible voter fraud when he referred to Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District race. Democratic Party candidate Rita Hart and Republican Party candidate Mariannette Miller-Meeks were in a tight battle for the seat. McCarthy said: \"I don’t have all the facts but I (sic) was just reported that they have allowed a little over 300 people to re-vote and now we’re behind.\" \"What?\" Ingraham responded as McCarthy continued: \"Why would all those people vote different? Yes, I don’t have all the facts. Our attorneys are rushing there, but this is what’s transforming out across America.\" No one got to re-vote, election officials in Iowa said. A problem existed but it was in how one Iowa county’s elections office registered votes from one of its precincts onto a spreadsheet, said Jasper County Auditor and Elections Commissioner Dennis Parrott and Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate. \"We reported wrong results on Election Night,\" Parrott said, a Democrat, at a Nov. 6 news conference in Newton, Iowa. \"It was human error, like a lot of things that happen.\" The corrected unofficial numbers showed Hart leading by 162 votes. The totals were unofficial because individual county canvassing boards make the official counts and certification of votes the week after the election. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 15, 2024 in a news conference California law lets you “rob a store as long as it’s not more than $950” and “not get charged.” Kamala Harris “did that.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • August 19, 2024 Parrott said his office called Pate’s when the error was discovered and that Pate’s office walked Jasper County staff through re-checking to make sure the corrected unofficial vote count was, indeed, accurate. Additionally, Pate ordered a hand-count audit of the votes before the canvasses. He said every county in the district is conducting post-election audits in randomly selected precincts to ensure accurate vote counts. Interest in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District race between Hart and Miller- Meeks is understandable. The seat, one of several for which the Associated Press did not call an immediate winner, had been held by a retiring Democrat, Dave Loebsack, and Republicans were eager to flip it. Miller-Meeks held a 280-vote edge on election night in the 24 counties that the district covers. But two days later, Jasper County discovered its reporting error, Pate said at the news conference where he and Parrott appeared. \"That would be the difference you’re seeing,\" Pate, a Republican, said. McCarthy’s offices in California and Washington, D.C., did not return calls from PolitiFact seeking comment or clarification on what he said on national television or if he had heard from Iowa elections officials. Pate said more votes still could be eligible for the scheduled vote canvasses because they might arrive in the mail but sent on time. Or, he said, they could have been cast provisionally, which means they were made by voters knowing that their eligibility could be questioned and ruled upon later. He said votes are verified by matching them with affidavits voters who cast them signed and whether or not the voters were registered. \"The key thing here is transparency, so you can see what happened,\" Pate said. The vote count is still going on, and the audit Pate ordered was to begin immediately and be done by Tuesday afternoon, when Jasper County canvasses its votes, he said. Our rating McCarthy said that 300 voters in Iowa were allowed to re-vote to change an election outcome. That is wrong. Pate and Parrott laid out in their news conference how the state first reported votes in Miller-Meeks’ favor swung to being in Hart’s favor. No one was allowed to re-vote, Pate’s office said. And even though McCarthy couched his televised statement by saying he didn’t know all the facts, he said it anyway, and Ingraham picked up on it as though it were fact. We rate the claim of 300 Iowans allowed to re-vote as Pants on Fire. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Rep. Kevin McCarthy, on \"The Ingraham Angle,\" Fox News Channel, Nov. 5, 2020, and Lauren Ingraham Twitter feed, Nov 6, 2020. Press release, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, Nov. 6, 2020. Kevin Hall, Iowa Secretary of State spokesperson, in an email to PolitiFact. Jasper County, Iowa, Elections Commissioner Dennis Parrott, Nov. 6, 2020, news conference. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, Nov. 6, 2020, news conference. Iowa Secretary of State’s elections result webpage. ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Lyle Muller ![](\\" ![](\\" Joni Ernst stated on August 24, 2022 in a newsletter: “The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says with the supersized staff, the IRS audit rate ‘would rise for ALL taxpayers’ regardless of income, and would even result in audits of innocent Americans who have paid their taxes and don’t owe the IRS anything.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Lyle Muller • August 31, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Deidre DeJear stated on August 13, 2022 in remarks at the Iowa State Fair: “$1.5 billion of your taxpayer money is sitting in an account” that can be used for other purposes. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Lyle Muller • August 29, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Mariannette Miller-Meeks stated on July 17, 2022 in a newsletter: The Democrats’ Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022 “would permit abortion up until delivery.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Nina Baker • August 1, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Cindy Axne stated on June 14, 2022 in a campaign ad: “Zach Nunn took money from Adventureland’s CEO, then sponsored legislation to loosen amusement park safety rules. A child died. Zach Nunn put his big donor first, ahead of the safety of Iowa families.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Lyle Muller • June 18, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Zach Wahls stated on May 31, 2022 in an end-of-year Senate Democrats newsletter: “There are fewer Iowans working today than when Gov. Reynolds took office.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Lyle Muller • June 9, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Zach Nunn stated on May 9, 2022 in a campaign ad: “Zack Nunn saved over 2,000 Americans abandoned in Afghanistan by leading private rescue missions.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Lyle Muller • May 27, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Mike Franken stated on May 5, 2022 in a tweet: “Senator Grassley hopped off the Finance Committee, where he could be helpful to Iowa and the nation, in favor of the Judiciary Committee\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Lyle Muller • May 9, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Joni Ernst stated on January 23, 2022 in an interview: In Iowa, “since we have put a number of the voting laws into place over the last several years — voter ID is one of those — we\'ve actually seen voter participation increase, even in off-election years.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Lyle Muller • January 26, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Abby Finkenauer stated on December 9, 2021 in a tweet: Chuck Grassley was “voting to slash Medicare” when voting against the debt ceiling bill. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Lyle Muller • December 17, 2021 ![](\\" independentgroup____________________/3e1f8fe090deb3bc50d06905b555d212.jpeg\\") ![](\\" independentgroup____________________/27e5585237d795af8b4de31943a1cab6.jpeg\\") Progress Iowa stated on November 15, 2021 in a press release: \"Only one member of Iowa’s federal delegation\" voted in favor of the bipartisan infrastructure legislation. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Lyle Muller • November 18, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Randy Feenstra stated on October 5, 2021 in a tweet: The Biden administration \"published a study concluding 4 (of) 5 new cars on the road by 2050 will still require liquid fuels.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Sabine Martin • October 28, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Chuck Grassley stated on October 19, 2021 in a tweet: \"Welcome 2 Pres Biden’s America where inflation is costing households an extra $175 a month.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Lyle Muller • October 21, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Cindy Axne stated on June 10, 2021 in an interview: \"We’re not even remotely close to a point to say that we’re at rising inflation.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Lyle Muller • July 1, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Lindsay James stated on May 11, 2021 in a tweet: “There are more job openings than there are people on unemployment\" in Iowa. ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Lyle Muller • May 12, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Randy Feenstra stated on April 28, 2021 in a tweet: \"Only <6% of the $2.1 trillion \'infrastructure\' bill contains funding for roads & bridges.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Lyle Muller • April 30, 2021 ### Claim about people \'re-voting\' in Iowa 2020 election is wrong * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 7, 2024 in a rally in Mosinee, Wis.: Vice President Kamala Harris “cast the tiebreaking votes that caused the worst inflation in American history, costing a typical American family $28,000.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 8, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" National Republican Senatorial Committee stated on August 28, 2024 in an Instagram ad: Elissa Slotkin “gave your hard-earned tax money to illegal immigrants.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Caleb McCullough • September 6, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 5, 2024 in a post: Video shows Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz dancing to Beyoncé in a cowboy hat and crop top. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sara Swann • September 6, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" X posts stated on September 3, 2024 in X posts: A group of 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of Education vote on teacher bonuses to hold campaign event.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Paul Specht • September 6, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 4, 2024 in an Instagram post: An image shows the social media profile of the accused suspect in the Apalachee High School shooting. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 5, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on August 31, 2024 in a post: McDonald’s “said they have no record whatsoever of Kamala Harris ever working at any of their locations.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sara Swann • September 5, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. 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In Iowa they have allowed a little over 300 people to revote