A panel of three Warren County officials, including County Attorney Doug Eichholz, Treasurer Julie Daugherty, and Auditor David Whipple, unanimously declared a petition to force a special election was valid in a 3-0 vote in front of a full crowd at the Warren County Administration Building Friday.

The petition was submitted by the Warren County Democrats after the Warren County Board of Supervisors appointed Republican David Whipple to the post of County Auditor after the retirement of Democrat Tracy Vanderlinden, and the petition was subsequently challenged by the Warren County Republican Party, initially citing illegible signatures, signees not residing in Warren County, and incorrect dates, and the petition citing a wrong Iowa Code, among others.

Both the challengers and petitioners were allowed to speak at the meeting, with Warren County GOP Chair Steve Kirby withdrawing the objections regarding Iowa Code as they were in compliance with state law, however, still objecting to 952 names on the petition, citing illegible signatures.

Shayla McCormally spoke as a representative of the Warren County Democratic Party, and said party officials reviewed the petition and found several discrepancies, however those were not nearly enough from the nearly 3,500 names on the petition to get it lower than the required 2,384. McCormally said legible signatures are required, and the Iowa Supreme Court has made their rulings very clear to err on the side of holding an election.

The panel each explained their process of review, which Auditor David Whipple said he used resources in his office both Democrat and Republican to assist in making the decision, and Warren County Attorney Doug Eichholz said he would not be using illegible signatures as a reason to discount any names on the petition.

The panel recommended the special election be held on August 29th, pending approval by the Warren County Board of Supervisors.