Hart’s House appeal decision is reasonable

Six votes separate the candidates in Iowa's 2nd Congressional District, one of the closest races in the country. Yet The Gazette has failed to cover the facts surrounding the election contest. With votes left to count and thousands of votes unevaluated during the recount, Democrat Rita Hart has made the only reasonable decision to contest the election with the U.S. House.

Hart has spoken loudly and clearly since the beginning of the process: All votes should be counted. In an Iowa Press interview, Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks admitted there were uncounted ballots in the race. While her team has attempted to do damage control on her 'slip-up,” the message is loud and clear. Miller-Meeks does not want all of the ballots counted because she might not win. Leaders of this country should not encourage anyone to 'Stop the count” until every valid ballot has been accounted for, and encouraging against that is a threat to our democracy.

This is why Hart is contesting the election in the U.S. House. It is the only legal pathway that guarantees every Iowans' votes will be counted. Rita Hart has shown integrity in her fight to have all the votes counted, knowing some will go against her. Let's follow her lead and make sure Iowans can continue to have faith in their electoral process. Let's count every vote.

Anna Mayer

Iowa City