By William Morris, Des Moines Register
A Johnson County jury has acquitted a man accused of illegally voting in the November 2023 election.
Emmanuel Gathua was charged last year with illegally registering to vote and casting a ballot despite not being a U.S. citizen. It’s one of at least six such cases Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has brought since taking office in 2023.
Gathua’s case went to trial this week in Johnson County, where he faced two felony counts of first-degree election misconduct. On Wednesday, March 11, the jury returned not-guilty verdicts on both charges.
The Des Moines Register has reached out to Bird’s office for comment. Gathua’s attorney, Nick Sarcone, said in a statement the jury’s verdict was correct.
“From day one we said the evidence didn’t support these charges,” Sarcone said. “After hearing the case, a jury of Iowans agreed.”
Mixed results so far in voting cases
Of the six voting cases Bird has brought, Gathua’s is the second to end in acquittal at trial. A Hancock County jury cleared Roque Ramirez Vasquez of similar charges in September.
Other cases have gone the state’s way. In Marshall County, Jorge Sanchez Vasquez was convicted at trial in December. He received a deferred judgment and probation.
Irving Ahumada Geronimo of Palo Alto County was convicted at trial in August. The judge later ruled he was entitled to a new trial after the court found it had allowed improper testimony, and an appeal is pending.
Still pending are charges against Itzel Romero Lopez, also in Johnson County, and against Jose Lozano Monoz in Sioux County.
To date, all the charges announced have involved alleged illegal voting in the period from 2021 to 2023. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate claimed in March 2025 that 35 noncitizens had voted in the 2024 election, and another five had tried to vote and been rejected. No charges have yet been announced in those allegations.
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