Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:30 a.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A split Iowa Supreme Court is upholding a new Republican-backed law that will bar county elections commissioners from mailing absentee ballots this week to thousands of people who omitted information on their applications. The 4-3 ruling means voters who want to cast ballots by mail for the Nov. 3 election must complete their absentee ballot applications before Saturday’s deadline in order to qualify. Auditors will not be allowed to use the state’s voter registration system to fill in any blanks on submitted applications. Dissenting justices contend that the ruling will “likely cause thousands of voters to not receive their ballot in time to use it.”

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says her administration will try to convince federal auditors to allow its plan to spend $21 million in coronavirus relief funds on a long-planned information technology system. Reynolds says the state believes spending federal virus aid to purchase and implement a new accounting and human resources system for the executive branch is “an allowable expense.” State Auditor Rob Sand has said the use of federal funds for the Workday project is inappropriate. He warns that Iowa will be on the hook to repay $21 million to the federal government if it’s not diverted to an allowable use.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The number of Iowa residents dying from the coronavirus is quickly rising again after weeks of increasing hospitalizations and outbreaks at nursing homes. The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 31 new deaths from the virus Wednesday, the most confirmed in a 24-hour period since the beginning of the pandemic. That does not mean that 31 people died in one day. Instead, it means that the state received 31 new reports of confirmed COVID—19 deaths through medical examiners and death certificates. Many of the deaths happened a few or several days ago.