The Johnson County Board of Supervisors will work to identify an appropriate way to move forward after a lawsuit was filed against the state on Oct. 23. The lawsuit claims an Iowa law requiring districts with regent universities to change the way they elect their supervisors is unconstitutional. This law directly affects the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, who are all up for reelection next year.
Johnson County is one of three counties affected by the law, along with Story County, which hosts Iowa State University, and Black Hawk County, which hosts the University of Northern Iowa.
The suit, with 14 plaintiffs spread between the three impacted counties, names the Johnson, Black Hawk, and Story County Board of Supervisors, as well as Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Secretary of State Paul Pate as defendants, according to court documents.
Senate File 75 was signed into law on April 10 by Reynolds. The law requires all three counties to change the way they elect supervisors, splitting counties into five districts and having them each vote for one supervisor to sit on the board.
Prior to the law being passed, each supervisor was present on ballots, voted on by all Johnson County residents. The new law will force a redistricting of the county, meaning supervisors will only be elected by those within a specific district.
James Larew, an Iowa City attorney representing the plaintiffs, said the system will diminish overall voting power. He also called the law unconstitutional.
The plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction, with the hope the court will find the law in violation of voters’ rights.
“ [The voters] would have one fifth the power of the vote than they have now, because right now they vote for all of the members of the Board of Supervisors,” Larew said, “We’re asking the court to enjoin all of those processes so that the district lines aren’t redrawn and so that voters aren’t restricted for one member only, depending on where they live.”
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The petition says the law would give more power to rural voters and dilute the votes of students in the counties with regent universities. The petition claims this to be unconstitutional and in violation of voters’ rights.
Larew said he hopes the court will find the law unconstitutional and therefore void, resulting in a preliminary injunction. This injunction would stop state officials from moving to create districts.
“If we prevail here, it means that voting in each of the three regent counties would vote with respect to county boards of supervisors exactly as they have done in the past,” Larew said, “So if we prevail, it just means that it keeps things as they are, no changes.”
Larew said he hopes the case moves forward in an “expeditious way,” as all of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors seats will be on the ballot in 2026.
“There’ll be a need for the system to move promptly so that the question can be fully resolved in a manner that voters won’t be left to wonder, you know what the rules are in each of the counties,” Larew said.
Two Johnson County supervisors, Rod Sullivan and Mandi Remington, declined to comment on the lawsuit itself as it is ongoing. Remington spoke to the law itself, calling it “very problematic” as it takes away voters’ rights from three counties out of Iowa’s 99.
Jon Green, who is the current chair of the board, said the supervisors will continue to council and identify an appropriate way to move forward.
“I’ve made no secret my disdain for the legislation. One of the primary purposes of units of government is to sue and be sued,” Green said, “I’m not terribly surprised, we’ll see what the appropriate response is.”