Iowa Democrat who lost by 6 votes asks House to investigate race, consider flipping result

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Iowa Army veteran expected to win congressional race by 6 votes

Congresswoman-elect Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, discusses her race on ‘Fox & Friends.’

Iowa Democratic congressional candidate Rita Hart says she is calling on the U.S. House of Representatives to get involved after her state certified the results of her race with Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks winning by six votes.

If the Democratic-led House decides to hear Hart's case, then that could kick off a scenario where all members of Congress would have to cast a vote on whether Hart should be seated as the official representative in the 2nd District. 

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"Today, I am officially asking the House to ensure every Iowan's voice is heard in #IA02," Hart tweeted Tuesday, adding that there are still 22 ballots that were never counted and that there are thousands of others in question.

In a press release, Hart's campaign said she was filing a Notice of Contest with the House "outlining why Rita is the winner of this race."

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That notice, obtained by the Iowa City Press-Citizen, claims that the 22 uncounted ballots include Hart votes that were excluded for reasons including issues with the envelope's seal, a signature in the wrong place, and a machine not accepting ballots.

Former Iowa State Senator Rita Hart speaks with a reporter at her home in Wheatland, Iowa on Tuesday August 13, 2019. (Photo by Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call) (Getty Images)

This would not be the first time the House got involved in a race. House Democrats voted in 1985 to seat a fellow Democrat who initially lost an Indiana House race by 418 votes under the state-certified results. But Indiana Democratic incumbent Frank McCloskey petitioned the House and a months-long congressional investigation and recount determined that McCloskey won the election by four votes.

Miller-Meeks spoke out against Hart's effort in a statement and video posted Tuesday morning, saying her opponent "wants Washington politicians to override the will of Iowa voters." She noted that a recount in every county confirmed that she defeated Hart in the race.

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"This election has been decided by Iowans. That decision should not be thrown into Washington’s hyper-partisan atmosphere," Miller-Meeks said. "It is shameful that Rita Hart does not have faith in Iowans, and does not respect the decision of Iowa voters."

Fox News' Marisa Schultz contributed to this report.