DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Tuesday to determine whether three Iowa Libertarian candidates for Congress can remain on the November ballot.
The hearing comes after the State Objection Panel ruled to remove them — Marco Battaglia, Charles Aldrich and Nicholas Glubas — a decision that was upheld by an Iowa District Court.
As of now, none of the candidates are set to appear on November ballots.
The Iowa Supreme Court's ruling will impact the 1st, 3rd and 4th Congressional Districts that are all up for election come Tuesday, Nov. 5.
The ruling could come down to 118 minutes, which is the length of time Iowa state code requires between a political party's county and state conventions.
The Libertarian Party's state and county conventions, where the party selected its congressional candidates, were held on the same day: June 8.
“What the State Objection Panel is ruling on they’re not kicking people off the ballot," attorney for the State Objection Panel, Will Admussen said. "They’re determining what the candidates have to go through, and making sure the paperwork they have to file is legally sufficient to get them on the ballot."
The Iowa Libertarian Party attorneys acknowledged the party's mistakes, but argued that the State Objection Panel’s decision to remove the candidates from the ballot is violating constitutional rights.
“The risk to our elections to allow this interference from a panel without authority to adjudicate it will lead to the same result the state wants to prevent, which is destabilizing our elections," attorney for the Iowa Libertarian Party, Jen De Kock said.
Justices on the court have until 11:59 p.m. Wednesday to release a decision.