The League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa [advocacy website] and Iowa State University student Taylor Blair filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] against Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate Wednesday alleging that House File 16 [text, PDF] is unconstitutional and puts a particular burden on minority voters.

Blair and the group allege that the law makes “voting in Iowa more complicated, cumbersome, and time-consuming, without adequate justification for doing so, burdening the right to vote of significant numbers of Iowans who are lawfully eligible to vote, in some cases to the point of complete disenfranchisement.” The law made a handful of changes to previous voting laws, including restrictions on absentee voting and “burdensome and irrational” voter ID requirements.

The plaintiffs argue that the restrictions outlined in House File 16 violate a number of provisions in the Iowa Constitution. They request that the government recognize that the contested provisions in House File 16 are unconstitutional and that these provisions not be implemented.

Priorities USA Foundation [official website] is funding the litigation.