Bill Text: IA HF2243 | 2013-2014 | 85th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act permitting electronic voter registration and including penalties and effective date provisions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-03-03 - Fiscal note. HCS. [HF2243 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2013-HF2243-Introduced.html
House
File
2243
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
2243
BY
T.
TAYLOR
and
WESSEL-KROESCHELL
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
permitting
electronic
voter
registration
and
including
1
penalties
and
effective
date
provisions.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
3
TLSB
5061HH
(5)
85
aw/sc
H.F.
2243
Section
1.
Section
39A.2,
subsection
1,
paragraph
a,
1
subparagraph
(2),
Code
2014,
is
amended
to
read
as
follows:
2
(2)
Falsely
swears
to
an
oath
required
pursuant
to
section
3
48A.7A
or
section
48A.8A
.
4
Sec.
2.
NEW
SECTION
.
48A.8A
Electronic
registration.
5
1.
An
eligible
elector
may
apply
to
register
to
vote
by
6
electronic
means
by
completing
and
submitting
an
electronic
7
voter
registration
form
provided
through
the
state
commissioner
8
of
elections’
internet
site.
A
commissioner
of
registration’s
9
internet
site
may
provide
an
electronic
link
to
the
electronic
10
voter
registration
form
provided
under
this
subsection.
11
2.
An
electronic
voter
registration
form
completed
pursuant
12
to
this
section
shall
require
that
a
registrant:
13
a.
Provide
the
information
as
required
pursuant
to
section
14
48A.11.
15
b.
Have
an
Iowa
driver’s
license,
Iowa
nonoperator’s
16
identification
card,
a
social
security
number,
or
an
17
identification
number
provided
pursuant
to
section
48A.11,
18
subsection
8.
19
c.
Attest
to
a
statement
that
lists
each
eligibility
20
requirement,
that
the
registrant
meets
all
of
the
requirements,
21
and
requires
the
electronic
signature
of
the
registrant,
22
consistent
with
electronic
signatures
as
defined
in
section
23
554D.103.
24
d.
Sign
the
electronic
voter
registration
form
in
a
manner
25
consistent
with
electronic
signatures
as
defined
in
section
26
554D.103.
27
e.
Affirmatively
authorize
the
state
commissioner
of
28
elections
to
use
the
registrant’s
signature
obtained
from
29
the
department
of
transportation
or
from
a
commissioner
of
30
registration
for
voter
registration
purposes.
31
f.
In
order
for
a
registrant
to
register
under
this
section,
32
the
state
commissioner
of
elections
shall
verify
that
the
Iowa
33
driver’s
license
number,
Iowa
nonoperator’s
identification
card
34
number,
last
four
numerals
of
the
registrant’s
social
security
35
-1-
LSB
5061HH
(5)
85
aw/sc
1/
5
H.F.
2243
number,
or
the
unique
identifying
number,
and
date
of
birth
1
provided
by
the
registrant
match
the
information
contained
in
2
department
of
transportation
records
or
in
commissioner
of
3
registration
records.
4
3.
a.
The
department
of
transportation
shall,
upon
5
request,
provide
to
the
state
commissioner
of
elections
a
copy
6
of
the
registrant’s
signature
in
electronic
format,
if
the
7
registrant’s
signature
is
on
record
with
the
department
of
8
transportation.
9
b.
A
commissioner
of
registration
shall,
upon
request,
10
provide
to
the
state
commissioner
of
elections
a
copy
of
11
the
registrant’s
signature
in
electronic
format,
if
the
12
registrant’s
signature
is
accepted
and
on
record
with
the
13
commissioner
of
registration
pursuant
to
section
48A.13.
14
4.
a.
The
state
commissioner
of
elections
shall
transmit
15
to
the
appropriate
commissioner
of
registration
a
registrant’s
16
completed
voter
registration
form
and
electronic
signature
not
17
later
than
five
business
days
after
the
date
of
electronic
18
submission
of
the
form
by
the
registrant.
19
b.
The
state
commissioner
of
elections
shall
notify
the
20
registrant
by
mail
within
five
business
days
if
a
copy
of
21
the
registrant’s
signature
cannot
be
obtained
by
the
state
22
commissioner
of
elections
in
electronic
format
pursuant
to
23
subsection
3.
The
state
commissioner
of
elections
shall
24
include
a
voter
registration
form
with
the
notice.
25
5.
A
voter
registration
form
completed
under
this
section
26
shall
be
accompanied
by
the
following
statement
featured
27
prominently
on
the
internet
site
in
boldface
capital
letters:
28
WARNING:
I
UNDERSTAND
THAT
ANY
FALSE
STATEMENT
IN
THIS
OATH
29
IS
A
CLASS
“D”
FELONY
PUNISHABLE
BY
NO
MORE
THAN
FIVE
YEARS
IN
30
CONFINEMENT
AND
A
FINE
OF
AT
LEAST
SEVEN
HUNDRED
FIFTY
DOLLARS
31
BUT
NOT
MORE
THAN
SEVEN
THOUSAND
FIVE
HUNDRED
DOLLARS.
32
6.
An
eligible
elector
who
registers
pursuant
to
this
33
section
and
who
has
not
previously
voted
in
an
election
for
34
federal
office
in
the
county
of
registration
shall
be
treated
35
-2-
LSB
5061HH
(5)
85
aw/sc
2/
5
H.F.
2243
as
a
registrant
by
mail
and
is
subject
to
the
provisions
of
1
section
48A.8,
subsections
2
through
4.
2
Sec.
3.
Section
48A.27,
subsection
2,
paragraph
a,
Code
3
2014,
is
amended
by
adding
the
following
new
subparagraph:
4
NEW
SUBPARAGRAPH
.
(6)
A
voter
registration
form
submitted
5
as
provided
in
section
48A.8A.
6
Sec.
4.
EFFECTIVE
DATE.
This
Act
takes
effect
January
1,
7
2015.
8
EXPLANATION
9
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
10
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
11
This
bill
permits
electronic
voter
registration
from
the
12
state
commissioner
of
elections’
internet
site.
13
The
bill
allows
an
eligible
elector
to
apply
to
register
14
to
vote
by
electronic
means
by
completing
and
submitting
an
15
electronic
voter
registration
form
provided
on
the
internet
16
site
for
the
secretary
of
state
as
the
state
commissioner
of
17
elections.
18
The
bill
requires
that
an
electronic
voter
registration
19
form
provide
all
information
that
is
currently
required
on
20
printed
voter
registration
forms.
The
bill
also
requires
that
21
a
registrant
seeking
to
use
the
electronic
voter
registration
22
form
have
an
Iowa
driver’s
license,
Iowa
nonoperator’s
23
identification
card,
a
social
security
number,
or
a
unique
24
identifying
number
assigned
to
the
registrant
for
voter
25
registration
purposes.
26
The
bill
requires
that
a
registrant
attest
to
a
statement
27
that
lists
each
voter
registration
eligibility
requirement,
28
that
the
registrant
meets
all
of
the
requirements,
and
requires
29
the
electronic
signature
of
the
registrant,
consistent
with
30
Code
section
554D.103,
as
part
of
the
uniform
electronic
31
transactions
Act.
The
bill
further
requires
that
a
registrant
32
sign
the
electronic
voter
registration
form
in
a
manner
33
consistent
with
that
Code
section.
34
The
bill
requires
that
the
registrant
authorize
the
35
-3-
LSB
5061HH
(5)
85
aw/sc
3/
5
H.F.
2243
state
commissioner
of
elections
to
use
the
applicant’s
1
signature
obtained
from
the
department
of
transportation
or
a
2
commissioner
of
registration
for
voter
registration
purposes.
3
The
state
commissioner
of
elections
is
required
to
notify
a
4
registrant
by
mail
within
five
business
days
if
a
copy
of
the
5
registrant’s
signature
cannot
be
obtained
and
is
required
to
6
include
a
voter
registration
form
with
that
notice.
7
The
bill
requires
that
the
state
commissioner
of
elections
8
verify
that
the
Iowa
driver’s
license,
Iowa
nonoperator’s
9
identification
card,
last
four
numerals
of
the
registrant’s
10
social
security
number,
or
unique
identifying
number,
and
date
11
of
birth
provided
by
the
registrant
match
the
information
12
contained
in
department
of
transportation
records
or
in
13
commissioner
of
registration
records.
The
bill
requires
the
14
state
commissioner
of
elections
to
transmit
to
the
appropriate
15
commissioner
of
registration
a
registrant’s
completed
voter
16
registration
application
and
electronic
signature
not
later
17
than
five
business
days
after
the
date
of
submission
of
the
18
application
and
signature.
19
The
bill
requires
that
the
electronic
registration
form
be
20
accompanied
by
a
statement
featured
prominently
in
boldface
21
capital
letters
informing
the
registrant
of
the
penalty
22
for
providing
false
information
on
a
voter
registration
23
application.
24
The
bill
also
requires
that
an
electronic
voter
registration
25
registrant
who
has
not
previously
voted
in
an
election
for
26
federal
office
in
the
county
of
registration
must
follow
the
27
voting
requirements
of
Code
section
48A.8
for
registrants
28
submitting
applications
by
mail
under
current
law
and
who
have
29
not
previously
voted
in
an
election
for
federal
office
in
the
30
county
of
registration.
These
provisions
under
current
law
31
require
that
a
mail
registrant
who
has
not
previously
voted
in
32
an
election
for
federal
office
in
the
county
of
registration
33
shall
be
required
to
provide
identification
documents
when
34
voting
for
the
first
time
in
the
county,
unless
the
registrant
35
-4-
LSB
5061HH
(5)
85
aw/sc
4/
5
H.F.
2243
provided
on
the
registration
form
the
registrant’s
Iowa
1
driver’s
license
number,
the
registrant’s
Iowa
nonoperator’s
2
identification
card
number,
or
the
last
four
numerals
of
the
3
registrant’s
social
security
number
and
such
information
4
provided
matches
an
existing
state
or
federal
identification
5
record
with
the
same
number,
name,
and
date
of
birth.
Code
6
section
48A.8
also
provides
that
a
registrant
who
votes
in
7
person
at
the
polls
or
by
absentee
ballot
at
the
commissioner’s
8
office
or
at
a
satellite
voting
station
shall
provide
a
form
of
9
identification
specified
in
that
Code
section.
Code
section
10
48A.8
also
requires
that
if
a
registrant
is
voting
for
the
11
first
time
following
mail
registration
and
votes
an
absentee
12
ballot
by
mail,
the
registrant
shall
provide
a
photocopy
of
the
13
identification
document
when
returning
the
absentee
ballot.
14
Code
section
48A.8
also
allows
a
registrant
voting
in
person
15
for
the
first
time
following
submission
of
a
registration
form
16
by
mail
to
vote
a
provisional
ballot
if
the
voter
does
not
17
provide
the
required
identification
documents.
18
The
bill
extends
the
category
for
the
crime
of
voter
19
registration
fraud
to
include
fraudulent
electronic
20
registration.
Registration
fraud
is
a
class
“D”
felony.
A
21
class
“D”
felony
is
punishable
by
confinement
for
no
more
than
22
five
years
and
a
fine
of
at
least
$750
but
not
more
than
$7,500.
23
The
bill
takes
effect
January
1,
2015.
24
-5-
LSB
5061HH
(5)
85
aw/sc
5/
5
