Iowa man charged with felony election misconduct set to stand trial Tuesday as free speech debate emerges

RED OAK, Iowa (KMTV) — A Red Oak man charged with felony election misconduct is set to stand trial starting Tuesday.

Joey Norris, 36, was part of a bipartisan committee counting absentee ballots on Election Day in 2024. He was told to leave during the ballot count by the county auditor.

Twenty months later, the Iowa Attorney General's Office brought charges against Norris. His attorney is Gina Messamer.

"What the state is alleging from its witnesses, and what its filed so far and from depositions, what they've talked about, is that they were frustrated with Joey challenging the other board members about what the rules were and what should be happening throughout the day with various procedures," she said.

Messamer told KMTV she believes part of the case involves Norris' right to free speech. However, Assistant Iowa Attorney General Joshua Duden argues that Norris was legally an employee of the county auditor and therefore not entitled to free speech in these circumstances.

"...And so saying that they should be able to present that sort of evidence, or line of argument, is simply not true," Duden said.

Supporters rallied on behalf of Norris outside the Montgomery County Courthouse. Evan Berger of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement was among those who spoke.

"This case should have never gotten this far. Frankly, the timing of this is a little suspicious to me. I just want to remind everyone about it here. We're talking about events that happened on the day of the 2024 election," Berger said.

Attorneys say they expect the trial to last two or three days.

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