Election officials watch for 'electioneering' in Iowa City race

IOWA CITY – A little bit of electioneering occurred Thursday in the City Council race in Iowa City, and it caught the attention of the Johnson County Auditor's Office.

Small fliers were placed throughout Old Capitol Town Center in downtown Iowa City. They encouraged all students living in Iowa City to “vote today” and listed the names of at-large candidates Raj Patel and Jarrett Mitchell and District A candidate Steve Soboroff.

Mayor Matt Hayek and Michelle Payne also are running for the two open at-large seats, and Rick Dobyns is battling Soboroff in District A.

Electioneering is to actively work for a candidate or party, and it is not allowed within sight or hearing of voters while they are at a satellite voting station.

Satellite voting was held at Old Capitol Town Center Thursday, and a lot of college students walk through, eat and study in the mall during the day.

Johnson County Auditor Tom Slockett said he saw a SourceMedia Group reporter's post on the microblog site Twitter about the fliers and checked with staff at the Iowa Ethics and Campaign and Disclosure Board and the Secretary of State's Office.

The fliers did not meet the definition under Iowa law of a campaign sign because they did not expressly advocate for a candidate, he said, and therefore they are not prohibited within 300 feet of a satellite station.

But they do constitute electioneering because they could assist candidates in getting elected, he said.

Election workers saw some fliers in Old Capitol but not within sight of the satellite station, he said.

He said the election rules balance free speech rights and protecting voters from being unduly influenced in casting their votes.

It's unclear who left the fliers.

Soboroff and Mitchell said they had nothing to do with them. Patel could not immediately be reached for comment.

Mitchell suspected some student-related groups were responsible.

Mitchell, at age 33, and Patel, 20, are the youngest candidates in the race.

Soboroff is 62 but has campaigned on making the city more student friendly and has been critical of the city law banning people younger than 21 from being in bars at night.

All of the candidates have said they would not try to repeal the so-called 21-only law if they are elected.