SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) – Woodbury County is now one of three Iowa counties being sued by President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and Republican Party groups.

The two groups are seeking to invalidate thousands of prepopulated absentee ballot request forms, mailed out by the county. The lawsuit names Woodbury County Auditor Pat Gill and claims the forms violate a directive from Iowa’s Secretary of State.

Last month, Iowa Secretary of State, Paul Pate, announced that only blank forms could be sent to voters, ensuring uniformity statewide.

The ballot request forms sent to voters in Woodbury County as well as Linn and Johnson counties were pre-populated with voter names, date of birth, and voting pin numbers.

Gill said he can’t comment on the lawsuit but mentions the process is one that has been successfully used for years.

“We’ve been doing pretty much the same process for the 24 years I have been here, the absentee voting. It becomes more and more popular each time people are becoming more comfortable with it. There is an advantage of voting from home besides being safe and secure is that you will have an opportunity to make a good sound choice when you casting your ballot,” said Pat Gill, Woodbury County Auditor.

The lawsuit is asking for county auditors in the three counties to invalidate the already mailed forms and require registered voters to submit a new request. However, Pat Gill said the process leading up to the mailing of ballots is already underway.

“Right now what they are being entered into the system we will build the database and once our ballots are certified we will start fulfilling those requests we will stuff envelopes with ballots and then get them ready to be mail out on October 5,” said Gill.

A hearing on the request by the Trump re-election campaign and GOP is set for August 28.

By comparison in the June Primary Election, about 13,000 absentee ballots were cast in Woodbury County.

The State of Iowa set an overall record for voter turnout, with more than 500,000 people casting ballots, early or in-person.

Gill tells KCAU 9 the county recently sent out 56,000 absentee requests to the 57,000 registered voters and 14,000 of them have already been returned.

During the November General Election, Woodbury County will have all of its 44 polling locations open.

Gill said he’s still looking for more poll workers as well.