Marco Battaglia’s Ballot Battle | Des Moines News

Marco Battaglia, a Libertarian candidate running for Congress in Iowa, is fighting to stay on the ballot after being disqualified for using his professional name — “Marco Battaglia” — instead of his legal name, Mark T. Anderson. Despite winning over 262,000 votes in 2018 under the name Marco Battaglia, Iowa law now bars candidates from appearing on ballots under names other than their legal ones. Battaglia’s legal team is pushing for an urgent court review to get him reinstated before military and overseas ballots are mailed out on September 19, arguing voters deserve a full slate of choices. The state’s Attorney General’s office defended the ruling, citing Iowa law’s strict name requirements — even comparing it to a celebrity not being allowed to run under a stage name. The national Libertarian Party is backing him, pledging full support, and the lawsuit also challenges whether the State Objections Panel can impose rules not already set by the legislature. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/ec7f1c2055d9a03a