DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Democratic challenger to a northeast Iowa House seat who lost the election by nine votes saying the appropriate challenge should be taken up by the House under Iowa law. Democrat Kayla Koether asked Judge Scott Beattie to order election officials to count 29 mailed absentee ballots that did not have postmarks but did have postal bar code markings that revealed they were mailed on time.

Incumbent Republican Michael Bergan leads Koether by nine votes in the northeast Iowa district and counting the absentee ballots could change the election outcome. Beattie says in a ruling today (Friday), that the appropriate election challenge under the Iowa Constitution and law to a legislative seat is to the lawmakers themselves and not the court. That means Koether may proceed by notifying Bergan and Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate she’s contesting the election. Then, the Iowa House, currently led by Republicans will act as a court to consider evidence and decide whether to count the ballots.