DES MOINES, IOWA (July 8, 2026) — On July 7, Polk County District Court scheduled a full-day evidentiary hearing for July 21 in the legal challenge brought by Libertarian gubernatorial candidates Nicholas Gluba and Jules Cutler after the State Objection Panel voted to remove them from Iowa's 2026 general election ballot.
During the July 7 hearing, the judge determined the case will proceed to a full evidentiary hearing in district court rather than returning to the State Objection Panel. The court will allow the parties to present relevant evidence, compel witness testimony through subpoenas, and fully develop the factual record before issuing a final decision. The hearing is scheduled for 9AM on Tuesday, July 21, and the judge stated he intends to issue a final ruling by July 29.
The July 21 hearing will allow witnesses to testify under oath before the district court and give the parties the opportunity to present evidence that was not available during the June 15 proceedings before the State Objection Panel.
Among the issues expected to be explored at the hearing are communications within the Secretary of State's Office regarding Ms Cutler's affidavit of candidacy, as well as the campaign's request for security-camera footage from the Lucas State Office Building.
According to documents filed, the affidavit of candidacy issue was raised during the review of the nomination papers by an out-of-state attorney based in Washington DC. An elections specialist in the Secretary of State's Office, Danielle King, responded that Ms Cutler's affidavit of candidacy was not yet due and could not be subject to an objection. King has been subpoenaed to testify at the July 21 evidentiary hearing regarding her understanding of compliance with Iowa election law.
The campaign also sought security camera footage from inside and outside the Lucas State Office Building related to the filing of its nomination papers. According to the campaign, it was initially informed that the footage was being preserved, but after serving a subpoena was later told the recordings had been deleted. The campaign contends the deletion occurred despite the State's stated sixty-day retention policy.
"Iowans deserve real choices on their ballot — not decisions shaped by political insiders who don't answer to Iowa voters," said Jules Cutler.
"We're looking forward to presenting the facts under oath so Iowans can see exactly what happened. This campaign is about giving Iowans another choice, and we're going to keep fighting to make sure they get to make it."
Gluba and Cutler filed suit after the State Objection Panel voted on June 15 to sustain an objection to their nomination papers, removing the Libertarian ticket from the November ballot. The campaign argues the panel's decision violated due process and is asking the court to restore the ticket to the November ballot.
The evidentiary hearing is scheduled for 9AM on Tuesday, July 21, in Polk County District Court.
The Libertarian Party of Iowa is committed to America’s heritage of freedom: individual liberty and personal responsibility, a free-market economy of abundance and prosperity, a foreign policy of non-intervention, peace, and free trade. Find out more at lpia.org.
