Capitol Notebook: Group sues Des Moines Register over ‘misleading’ election poll

A Chicago-based nonprofit law firm has filed a lawsuit on behalf of subscribers to the Des Moines Register over a final preelection Iowa Poll that predicted Vice President Kamala Harris was leading Donald Trump in Iowa ahead of the Nov. 5, 2024, general election.

The lawsuit, filed in Polk County District Court by the Center for American Rights, piggybacks on a separate lawsuit filed last month by attorneys for President-elect Trump accusing the newspaper, its parent company, Gannett, and an Iowa polling firm of committing consumer fraud.

The Iowa Poll showed Harris leading Trump by 3 percentage points in the Republican-led state just days ahead of the election. Trump ultimately won Iowa by more than 13 points.

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The new lawsuit expands on Trump’s claims to include damages for subscribers. Filed on behalf of a newspaper subscriber from West Des Moines, it seeks certification as a class action on behalf of all print and digital subscribers to the Sunday edition of the Des Moines Register as of Nov. 3, 2024, the day the poll results were published.

The lawsuit alleges the reported results deceived consumers, distorted public perception and undermined confidence in the electoral process. It accuses the newspaper, pollster J. Ann Selzer, her firm and Gannett of fraudulent misrepresentation, reckless negligence and professional malpractice, claiming the Register "utterly failed to live up to" its mission statement of providing “trustworthy, smart and engaging news and information. The complaint says the Register and Selzer ignored red flags that should have indicated the results would be inaccurate.

The Center for American Rights, which states it is dedicated to “fairness, transparency, and accuracy in public discourse,” has also filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Election Commission in other lawsuits brought by Trump against news outlets for coverage he did not like, claiming bias, deceptive editing and equal-time violations.

The newspaper and its parent company responded in a statement Tuesday.

“The Des Moines Register and Gannett are currently reviewing the frivolous, copy-cat lawsuit filed by the Center for American Rights allegedly on behalf of subscribers of The Des Moines Register,” Nick Kleinfeld, counsel for The Des Moines Register, said in the statement. “This is the latest in disturbing attempts to pervert consumer protection laws to suppress political speech protected by the First Amendment. Although the results of the poll were unexpected, they were in no way fraudulent or misleading to the subscribers of The Des Moines Register or anyone else. Indeed, to fail to report the results of the poll regardless of the election outcome would be a disservice to both our readers and the general public. The Des Moines Register and Gannett will vigorously defend this baseless lawsuit in order to stand up for speech protected by the First Amendment.”

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression announced Tuesday it would defend Selzer pro bono against Trump’s lawsuit. The nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending free speech says the lawsuit threatens the First Amendment right to speak on core political issues.

“Donald Trump is abusing the legal system to punish speech he dislikes,” Adam Steinbaugh, an attorney for the nonprofit, said in a statement.

The nonprofit, in a news release, called Trump’s lawsuit “meritless” and said it distorts the purpose of consumer fraud laws. Legal experts have called the argument by Trump’s attorneys "extremely far fetched," and said consumer fraud laws typically do not apply to news content, but rather to protect consumers of goods and services from false advertising.

The foundation contends Selzer and the Register were transparent about how the poll was conducted. Selzer and the newspaper released the demographic breakdowns showing the results of the telephone survey and the weighting system. The Register also released “a technical explanation” from Selzer of her polling methods and why the results differed so widely from the actual vote.

“The response to a mismatch between my final poll and the decisions Iowa voters made should be thoughtful analysis and introspection,” Selzer said in a statement. “I should be devoting my time to that and not to a vengeful lawsuit from someone with enormous power and assets.”

Iowa business leaders optimistic

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Iowa’s business leaders have a positive view of the economy in the coming six months, according to the latest quarterly survey from the Iowa Business Council.

The latest survey’s overall economic outlook index was 65.63, an increase of nearly 9 points from the previous quarter. Anything measuring above 50 is considered a positive view of the economy, according to the council.

“As we enter the new year, the latest IBC survey results reinforce the broad sense of optimism in Iowa's economy from our members,” Gage Kent, chief executive officer of Kent Corporation and chair of the Iowa Business Council, said in a statement. “These numbers reflect an encouraging outlook for reduced headwinds. We look forward to capitalizing on this momentum by working closely with the governor and Iowa General Assembly throughout the legislative session on policy areas that expand Iowa’s economic vitality.”

The Iowa Business Council is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization with 22 members that are among the state’s largest employers. The companies represented employ over 160,000 Iowans with a combined payroll of roughly $10 billion.

$3.4M announced in grants for teacher development

Gov. Kim Reynolds announced $3.4 million in new registered apprenticeship grants to high school students and paraprofessionals working toward education careers to help combat Iowa’s teacher shortage.

This second round of funding for the Teacher and Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship Program will support the development of 68 new teacher apprentices and 26 new paraeducator apprentices in 11 school districts.

“Registered Apprenticeships are a perfect method to train the teachers of tomorrow with extensive, in-the-classroom experience — leading to graduates who are better prepared to succeed in their career from Day One,” Reynolds said in a statement. “We’ve received such a positive response to the first round of awards, I couldn’t be more excited to expand the Teacher & Paraeducator program to more school districts.”

The program was launched in 2022 as a way to further develop Iowa’s education workforce. Its first round of funding supported 1,000 apprenticeships in 124 school districts across the state.

Through the program, current high school students and adult paraeducators can earn credit while learning and working in the classroom. High schoolers can earn a paraeducator certificate and associate degree, while paraeducators can earn their bachelor's degree.

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau