Iowa Libertarians Removed From November Ballot Over Disputed Deadline
Iowa Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Nicholas Gluba and his running mate Jules Cutler were removed from the November 3, 2026 general election ballot by Iowa’s State Objections Panel in June. The panel ruled that Cutler had not submitted an affidavit of candidacy for lieutenant governor before the June 2 deadline of 5 p.m.
The candidates dispute the factual basis for that ruling. Cutler and her attorney, Jacob Heard, argued that Dani Phillips, an elections support specialist at the Iowa Secretary of State’s office, told Cutler she did not need to submit that paperwork when she accompanied Gluba to file for ballot access. The panel accepted Phillips’ testimony that she was never asked about the affidavit, and did not require her to file it. It did not weigh Cutler’s competing account of the same conversation.
Polk County Judge Upheld the Removal on July 27
Polk County District Court Judge Joseph Seidlin released his ruling on July 27, 2026, upholding the State Objections Panel’s decision. Gluba said he interpreted the ruling as the judge concluding he lacked authority to reverse it, not that the panel was necessarily correct.
“So, we’ll be working on another appeal.”
Nicholas Gluba, Libertarian gubernatorial candidate, July 29, 2026
Gluba said he believes the Iowa Supreme Court, as a higher body, does have the authority to act. No timeline for that filing has been announced publicly.
The Panel’s Composition Was Also Contested
The three-member State Objections Panel typically includes the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the State Auditor. Because State Auditor Rob Sand is running as the Democratic candidate for governor, he recused himself. The panel replaced him with Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig rather than Gov. Kim Reynolds, which the Libertarian candidates argued violated state law. Judge Seidlin found the substitution was not “unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious.”
The candidates also argued that Secretary of State Paul Pate, who directly employs Phillips, should have recused himself from ruling on her credibility. The judge declined to require recusal, writing that Pate’s “interest in having honest employees with good memories” was not enough to trigger that obligation without more evidence.
The district court ruling did note, however, that the panel affirmed Phillips’ testimony without also formally considering Cutler’s account. That asymmetry may be a point of argument on appeal.
What You Can Do Now
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Contact the Iowa Secretary of State’s office at (515) 281-5204 and ask that election staff training on candidate filing requirements be reviewed and documented before the November 3 election. Staff misinformation about filing deadlines is the core dispute here.
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Call your Iowa state legislators at the Iowa General Assembly switchboard, (515) 281-3221, and ask them to review Iowa Code on State Objections Panel composition, specifically whether the governor or the agriculture secretary should fill a vacancy when the auditor recuses.
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Track the appeal at the Iowa Supreme Court by searching Gluba v. State Objections Panel on the Iowa Judicial Branch case search tool at iowacourts.gov. Sign up for case updates to follow the ruling timeline before Election Day.
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Contact the Libertarian Party of Iowa at lpiowa.org to ask how you can support ballot access litigation costs. Third-party candidates rarely have resources to sustain multi-level court challenges.
Sources
- Signature cases add fuel to calls for ballot access reform — CommonWealth Beacon (2026-08-03)
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Iowa Libertarian Gubernatorial Candidate Plans to File Appeal in Ballot Removal Case Iowa Judicial Branch: Case Search Tool for Court Records Ballotpedia: Iowa State Objections Panel Procedures and Membership Libertarian Party of Iowa: Candidate and Party Information