Group files lawsuit against Des Moines Register for 'misleading subscribers' with Iowa Poll
A lawsuit has been filed against the Des Moines Register for "misleading subscribers" with its final 2024 Iowa Poll that showed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris leading Republican nominee — and eventual election winner — Donald Trump among likely voters just days before the election.
The Center for American Rights, a Chicago-based nonprofit law firm, filed the suit in Polk County on behalf of a West Des Moines resident who "felt like the Register was disserving him and other readers when [the poll] ran and when its results were compared to the final outcome."
In a news release, the center states it is seeking certification as a class action lawsuit on behalf of all Des Moines Register subscribers. The complaint filed in Polk County alleges there are approximately 40,000 Des Moines Register subscribers on Sundays, the day the results of the final poll were published.
The poll showed Harris with a lead of 3 percentage points among likely Iowa voters. Trump won the state with 57% of the vote to Harris' 43%.
The lawsuit alleges the Register "utterly failed to live up to" its mission statement of being a trustworthy news organization and says the Register and pollster J. Ann Selzer ignored red flags that should have indicated the results would be inaccurate. It cites a section of Iowa Code about consumer fraud.
President-elect Trump filed a similar lawsuit against the Register regarding consumer fraud last month.
Nick Kleinfeld, counsel for The Des Moines Register, responded to the latest lawsuit on Tuesday afternoon:
“The Des Moines Register and Gannett are currently reviewing the frivolous, copy-cat lawsuit filed by the Center for American Rights allegedly on behalf of subscribers of The Des Moines Register. This is the latest in disturbing attempts to pervert consumer protection laws to suppress political speech protected by the First Amendment. Although the results of the poll were unexpected, they were in no way fraudulent or misleading to the subscribers of The Des Moines Register or anyone else. Indeed, to fail to report the results of the poll regardless of the election outcome would be a disservice to both our readers and the general public. The Des Moines Register and Gannett will vigorously defend this baseless lawsuit in order to stand up for speech protected by the First Amendment.”
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