Bill Text: IA HF2256 | 2019-2020 | 88th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the automatic mailing of ballots and including applicability provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-06 - Introduced, referred to State Government. H.J. 202. [HF2256 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2019-HF2256-Introduced.html

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House File 2256 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE 2256
BY HUNTER
A BILL FOR
An Act relating to the automatic mailing of ballots and
including applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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Section 1. Section 22.7, subsection 72, Code 2020, is
amended by striking the subsection.
Sec. 2. Section 39A.4, subsection 1, paragraph c,
subparagraphs (10) and (11), Code 2020, are amended to read as
follows:
(10) Returning a voted absentee ballot , by mail , to a ballot
drop box, or in person, to the commissioner’s office and the
person returning the ballot is not the voter, the voter’s
designee, or a special precinct election official designated
pursuant to section 53.22, subsection 2 .
(11) Making a false or untrue statement reporting that
a voted absentee ballot was returned to the commissioner’s
office, by mail or in person, or to a ballot drop box, by a
person other than the voter, the voter’s designee, or a special
precinct election official designated pursuant to section
53.22, subsection 2 .
Sec. 3. Section 48A.10A, subsection 1, Code 2020, is amended
to read as follows:
1. The state registrar shall compare lists of persons who
are registered to vote with the department of transportation’s
driver’s license and nonoperator’s identification card files
and shall, on an initial basis, issue a voter identification
card to each active, registered voter whose name does not
appear in the department of transportation’s files. The voter
identification card shall include the name of the registered
voter, a signature line above which the registered voter
shall sign the voter identification card, the registered
voter’s identification number assigned to the voter pursuant
to section 47.7, subsection 2 , instructions on how the voter
may track the status of an absentee ballot, and an additional
four-digit personal identification number assigned by the state
commissioner.
Sec. 4. Section 53.1, Code 2020, is amended to read as
follows:
53.1 Right to vote —— conditions power of attorney .
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1. Any registered voter may, subject to the provisions of
this chapter , vote at any election:
a. When the voter expects to be absent on election day
during the time the polls are open from the precinct in which
the voter is a registered voter.
b. When, through illness or physical disability, the voter
expects to be prevented from going to the polls and voting on
election day.
c. When the voter expects to be unable to go to the polls
and vote on election day.
2. A person who has been designated to have power of
attorney by a registered voter does not have authority
to request or to cast an absentee ballot on behalf of the
registered voter.
Sec. 5. Section 53.7, Code 2020, is amended to read as
follows:
53.7 Solicitation by public employees.
1. It shall be unlawful for any employee of the state or any
employee of a political subdivision to solicit any application
or request for application for an absentee ballot, or to take
an affidavit in connection with any absentee ballot while the
employee is on the employer’s premises or otherwise in the
course of employment. However, any such employee may take such
affidavit in connection with an absentee ballot which is cast
by the registered voter in person in the office where such
employee is employed in accordance with section 53.10 or 53.11 .
This subsection shall not apply to any elected official.
2. It is unlawful for any public officer or employee,
or any person acting under color of a public officer or
employee, to knowingly require a public employee to solicit an
application or request an application for an absentee ballot,
or to knowingly require an employee to take an affidavit or
request for an affidavit in connection with an absentee ballot
application .
Sec. 6. Section 53.8, Code 2020, is amended to read as
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follows:
53.8 Ballot mailed.
1. a. Upon receipt of an application for an absentee
ballot and immediately after the absentee ballots are printed,
but not Not more than twenty-nine forty-five days before the
election, the commissioner shall mail an absentee ballot to
the applicant within twenty-four hours each registered voter ,
except as otherwise provided in subsection 3 . When the United
States post office is closed in observance of a federal holiday
and is not delivering mail on the twenty-ninth forty-fifth day
before the election, the first day to mail absentee ballots is
the next business day on which mail delivery is available. The
absentee ballot shall be sent to the registered voter by one of
the following methods:
(1) The absentee ballot shall be enclosed in an unsealed
envelope marked with a serial number and affidavit. The
absentee ballot and affidavit envelope shall be enclosed in
or with an unsealed return envelope marked postage paid which
bears the same serial number as the affidavit envelope. The
absentee ballot, affidavit envelope, and return envelope shall
be enclosed in a third envelope to be sent to the registered
voter. If the ballot cannot be folded so that all of the votes
cast on the ballot will be hidden, the commissioner shall also
enclose a secrecy envelope with the absentee ballot.
(2) The absentee ballot shall be enclosed in an unsealed
return envelope marked with a serial number and affidavit
and marked postage paid. The absentee ballot and return
envelope shall be enclosed in a second envelope to be sent
to the registered voter. If the ballot cannot be folded so
that all of the votes cast on the ballot will be hidden, the
commissioner shall also enclose a secrecy envelope with the
absentee ballot.
b. The affidavit shall be marked on the appropriate envelope
in a form prescribed by the state commissioner of elections.
c. For envelopes mailed at any election other than the
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primary election, the commissioner shall not mark any envelope
with any information related to the party affiliation of the
applicant registered voter .
2. a. The commissioner shall enclose with the absentee
ballot a statement informing the applicant registered
voter that the sealed return envelope may be mailed to the
commissioner by the registered voter or the voter’s designee ,
may be returned to a drop box established by the commissioner
pursuant to section 53.17, subsection 1, by the registered
voter or the voter’s designee, or may be personally delivered
to the commissioner’s office by the registered voter or the
voter’s designee. The statement shall also inform the voter
that the voter may request that the voter’s designee complete a
receipt when retrieving the ballot from the voter and that the
status of the absentee ballot may be checked on the internet
site of the secretary of state . A blank receipt shall be
enclosed with the absentee ballot.
b. If an application is received so late that it is unlikely
that the absentee ballot can be returned in time to be counted
on election day, the commissioner shall enclose with the
absentee ballot a statement to that effect.
3. a. When an application for an absentee ballot is
received mailed by the commissioner of any county from to a
registered voter who is a patient in a hospital in that county,
a tenant of an assisted living program in that county as shown
by the list of certifications provided the commissioner under
section 231C.21 , or a resident of any facility in that county
shown to be a health care facility by the list of licenses
provided the commissioner under section 135C.29 , the absentee
ballot shall be delivered to the voter and returned to the
commissioner in the manner prescribed by section 53.22 . For
purposes of this paragraph, “assisted living program” means a
program certified pursuant to section 231C.3 that meets the
standards for a dementia-specific assisted living program,
as established by rule by the department of inspections and
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appeals.
b. (1) If the application is received more than five days
before the ballots are printed and the commissioner has elected
to have the ballots personally delivered during the ten-day
period after the ballots are printed, the commissioner shall
mail to the applicant within twenty-four hours a letter in
substantially the following form: The state commissioner shall
adopt rules regarding the delivery and return of absentee
ballots pursuant to this subsection.
Your application for an absentee ballot for the election
to be held on ...... has been received. This ballot will
be personally delivered to you by a bipartisan team sometime
during the ten days after the ballots are printed. If you will
not be at the address from which your application was sent
during any or all of the ten-day period immediately following
the printing of the ballots, the ballot will be personally
delivered to you sometime during the fourteen days preceding
the election. If you will not be at the address from which
your application was sent during either of these time periods,
contact this office and arrangements will be made to have your
absentee ballot delivered at a time when you will be present at
that address.
(2) If the application is received more than fourteen
calendar days before the election and the commissioner has not
elected to mail absentee ballots to applicants as provided
under section 53.22, subsection 4 , and has not elected to have
the absentee ballots personally delivered during the ten-day
period after the ballots are printed, the commissioner shall
mail to the applicant within twenty-four hours a letter in
substantially the following form:
Your application for an absentee ballot for the election
to be held on ...... has been received. This ballot will
be personally delivered to you by a bipartisan team sometime
during the fourteen days preceding the election. If you will
not be at the address from which your application was sent
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during any or all of the fourteen-day period immediately
preceding the election, contact this office and arrangements
will be made to have your absentee ballot delivered at a time
when you will be present at that address.
c. Nothing in this subsection nor in section 53.22
shall be construed to prohibit a registered voter who is a
hospital patient or resident of a health care facility, or who
anticipates entering a hospital or health care facility before
the date of a forthcoming election, from casting an absentee
ballot in the manner prescribed by section 53.10 or 53.11 .
Sec. 7. Section 53.10, subsection 2, Code 2020, is amended
to read as follows:
2. a. Each person who wishes to vote by absentee ballot
at the commissioner’s office shall first sign an application
for a ballot including the following information: name,
current address, voter verification number, and the election
for which the ballot is requested. The person may report a
change of address or other information on the person’s voter
registration record at that time. The registered voter shall
immediately mark the ballot; enclose the ballot in a secrecy
envelope, if necessary, and seal it in the envelope marked
with the affidavit; subscribe to the affidavit on the reverse
side of the envelope; and return the absentee ballot to the
commissioner. The commissioner shall record the numbers
appearing on the application and affidavit envelope along with
the name of the registered voter.
b. For purposes of this subsection , “voter verification
number” means the registered voter’s driver’s license number
or nonoperator’s identification card number assigned to the
voter by the department of transportation or the registered
voter’s identification number assigned to the voter by the
state commissioner pursuant to section 47.7, subsection 2 .
Sec. 8. Section 53.12, Code 2020, is amended to read as
follows:
53.12 Duty of commissioner.
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The commissioner shall enclose the absentee ballot in
an unsealed envelope, to be furnished by the commissioner,
which envelope shall bear upon its face the words “county
commissioner of elections”, the address of the commissioner’s
office, and the same a serial number appearing on the unsealed
envelope shall be affixed to the application .
Sec. 9. Section 53.17, subsection 1, Code 2020, is amended
by adding the following new paragraph:
NEW PARAGRAPH . c. The sealed return envelope may be
delivered by the registered voter, by the voter’s designee, or
by the special precinct election officials designated pursuant
to section 53.22, subsection 2, to a drop box established by
the commissioner no later than 9:00 p.m. on election day.
However, if delivered by the voter’s designee, the envelope
shall be delivered within seventy-two hours of retrieving it
from the voter or before the closing of the polls on election
day, whichever is earlier. The state commissioner shall adopt
rules regarding the security of drop boxes. This paragraph
does not require a commissioner to establish a drop box.
Sec. 10. Section 53.17, subsection 4, paragraph f, Code
2020, is amended to read as follows:
f. A statement that the completed absentee ballot will be
delivered to the commissioner’s office or a drop box within
seventy-two hours of retrieving it from the voter or before the
closing of the polls on election day, whichever is earlier,
or that the completed absentee ballot will be mailed to the
commissioner within seventy-two hours of retrieving it from
the voter or within time to be postmarked or, if applicable,
to have the intelligent mail barcode traced to a date of entry
into the federal mail system not later than the day before the
election, whichever is earlier.
Sec. 11. Section 53.18, subsections 1 and 3, Code 2020, are
amended to read as follows:
1. When the return envelope containing the completed
absentee ballot is received by the commissioner, the
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H.F. 2256
commissioner shall at once electronically record receipt of
such ballot. Absentee ballots shall be stored in a secure
place until they are delivered to the absentee and special
voters precinct board.
3. If the affidavit envelope or the return envelope marked
with the affidavit contains a defect that would cause the
absentee ballot to be rejected by the absentee and special
voters precinct board, the commissioner shall immediately
notify the voter of that fact and that the voter’s absentee
ballot shall not be counted unless the voter requests and
returns a replacement ballot in the time permitted under
section 53.17, subsection 2 . For the purposes of this section ,
a return envelope marked with the affidavit shall be considered
to contain a defect if it appears to the commissioner that
the signature on the envelope has been signed by someone
other than the registered voter, in comparing the signature
on the envelope to the signature on record of the registered
voter named on the envelope. A signature or marking made
in accordance with section 39.3, subsection 17 , shall not
be considered a defect for purposes of this section . The
voter may request a replacement ballot in person, in writing,
or over the telephone. The same serial number that was
assigned to the records of the original absentee ballot
application shall be used on the envelope and records of the
replacement ballot. The envelope marked with the affidavit and
containing the completed replacement ballot shall be marked
“Replacement ballot”. The envelope marked with the affidavit
and containing the original ballot shall be marked “Defective”
and the replacement ballot shall be attached to such envelope
containing the original ballot and shall be stored in a secure
place until they are delivered to the absentee and special
voters precinct board, notwithstanding sections 53.26 and
53.27 .
Sec. 12. Section 53.19, subsection 1, Code 2020, is amended
to read as follows:
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1. The commissioner shall maintain a list of the absentee
ballots provided to registered voters, the serial number
appearing on the unsealed envelope, the date the application
for the absentee ballot was received, and the date the absentee
ballot was sent to the registered voter requesting the absentee
ballot .
Sec. 13. Section 53.19, subsection 3, paragraph b, Code
2020, is amended to read as follows:
b. A registered voter who has requested an absentee ballot
by mail but for any reason has not received it an absentee
ballot by mail or who has not brought the ballot to the polls
may appear at the voter’s precinct polling place on election
day and, after the precinct election officials confirm the
commissioner has not received the voter’s absentee ballot, the
voter shall be permitted to vote in person at the polls. If
the precinct election officials are unable to confirm whether
the commissioner has received the voter’s absentee ballot, the
voter shall cast a ballot in accordance with section 49.81 .
Sec. 14. Section 53.21, subsection 1, Code 2020, is amended
to read as follows:
1. A voter who has requested an absentee ballot may obtain
a replacement absentee ballot if the voter declares that the
original ballot was lost or did not arrive. The commissioner
upon receipt of a written or oral request for a replacement
ballot shall provide a duplicate ballot. The same serial
number that was assigned to the records of the original
absentee ballot request shall be used on the envelopes and
records of the replacement ballot.
Sec. 15. Section 53.21, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code
2020, is amended to read as follows:
a. The commissioner shall include with the replacement
ballot two copies of a statement in substantially the following
form:
The My absentee ballot which I requested on ........ (date)
has been lost or was never received. If I find this absentee
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ballot I will return it, unvoted, to the commissioner.
.........
(Signature of voter)
.........
(Date)
Sec. 16. Section 53.22, subsection 2, paragraph a,
subparagraph (1), Code 2020, is amended to read as follows:
(1) A registered voter who has applied for an absentee
ballot, in a manner other than that prescribed by section 53.10
or 53.11 , and who is a resident, tenant, or patient in a health
care facility, assisted living program, or hospital located in
the county to which the application has been submitted shall
be delivered the appropriate absentee ballot by two special
precinct election officers, one of whom shall be a member of
each of the political parties referred to in section 49.13 , who
shall be appointed by the commissioner from the election board
panel for the special precinct established by section 53.20 .
The special precinct election officers shall be sworn in the
manner provided by section 49.75 for election board members,
shall receive compensation as provided in section 49.20 ,
and shall perform their duties during the ten calendar days
after the ballots are printed if the commissioner so elects,
during the fourteen calendar days preceding the election, and
on election day if all ballots requested under section 53.8,
subsection 3 , have not previously been delivered and returned.
Sec. 17. Section 53.22, subsection 2, paragraphs b and c,
Code 2020, are amended to read as follows:
b. If an applicant under a registered voter subject to this
subsection notifies the commissioner that the applicant voter
will not be available at the health care facility, assisted
living program, or hospital address at any time during the
ten-day period after the ballots are printed, if applicable,
or during the fourteen-day period immediately prior to the
election, but will be available there at some other time prior
to the election or on election day, the commissioner shall
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direct the two special precinct election officers to deliver
the applicant’s ballot at an appropriate time preceding the
election or on election day. If a person who so requested an
absentee ballot voter has been dismissed from the health care
facility or hospital, or is no longer a tenant of the assisted
living program, the special precinct election officers may take
the ballot to the voter if the voter is currently residing in
the county.
c. The special precinct election officers shall travel
together in the same vehicle and both shall be present when
an applicant a voter casts an absentee ballot. If either
or both of the special precinct election officers fail to
appear at the time the duties set forth in this section are
to be performed, the commissioner shall at once appoint some
other person, giving preference to persons designated by
the respective county chairpersons of the political parties
described in section 49.13 , to carry out the requirements of
this section . The persons authorized by this subsection to
deliver an absentee ballot to an applicant a voter , and, if
requested, may assist the applicant voter in filling out the
ballot as permitted by section 49.90 . After the voter has
securely sealed the marked ballot in the envelope provided and
has subscribed to the oath, the voted absentee ballots shall
be deposited in a sealed container which shall be returned to
the commissioner on the same day the ballots are voted. On
election day the officers shall return the sealed container by
the time the polls are closed.
Sec. 18. Section 53.22, subsections 3, 4, and 5, Code 2020,
are amended to read as follows:
3. Any registered voter who becomes a patient, tenant, or
resident of a hospital, assisted living program, or health
care facility in the county where the voter is registered to
vote within three days prior to the date of any election or on
election day may request an absentee ballot during that period
or on election day. As an alternative to the application
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procedure prescribed by section 53.2 , the The registered
voter may make the request directly to the officers who are
delivering and returning absentee ballots under this section .
Alternatively, the request may be made by telephone to the
office of the commissioner not later than four hours before
the close of the polls. If the requester is found to be a
registered voter of that county, these officers shall deliver
the appropriate absentee ballot to the registered voter in the
manner prescribed by this section .
4. For any election except a primary or general election
or a special election to fill a vacancy under section 69.14 ,
the commissioner may, as an alternative to subsection 2 , mail
an absentee ballot to an applicant a registered voter under
this section to be voted and returned to the commissioner in
accordance with this chapter . This subsection only applies
to applications for absentee ballots from for a single health
care facility, assisted living program, or hospital if there
are no more than two applications from that facility, program,
or hospital.
5. The commissioner shall mail an absentee ballot to a
registered voter who has applied for an absentee ballot and
who is a patient, tenant, or resident of a hospital, assisted
living program, or health care facility outside the county in
which the voter is registered to vote.
Sec. 19. Section 53.23, subsection 3, paragraph c, Code
2020, is amended to read as follows:
c. For the general election, the commissioner may shall
convene the special precinct election board on the day before
the election on November 1 to begin counting absentee ballots.
However, if in the preceding general election the counting of
absentee ballots was not completed by 10:00 p.m. on election
day, the commissioner shall convene the special precinct
election board on the day before the next general election to
begin counting absentee ballots. The board shall not release
the results of its tabulation pursuant to this paragraph until
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the count is completed on election day.
Sec. 20. Section 53.23, subsection 4, Code 2020, is amended
to read as follows:
4. The room where members of the special precinct election
board are engaged in counting absentee ballots on the day
before the election pursuant to subsection 3 , paragraph “c” ,
or during the hours the polls are open shall be policed so
as to prevent any person other than those whose presence is
authorized by this subsection from obtaining information
about the progress of the count. The only persons who may
be admitted to that room are the members of the board, five
challengers representing each political party, one observer
representing any nonparty political organization or any
candidate nominated by petition pursuant to chapter 45 or
any other nonpartisan candidate in a city or school election
appearing on the ballot of the election in progress, one
observer representing persons supporting a public measure
appearing on the ballot and one observer representing
persons opposed to such measure, and the commissioner or the
commissioner’s designee. It shall be unlawful for any of these
persons to communicate or attempt to communicate, directly or
indirectly, information regarding the progress of the count at
any time while the board is convened pursuant to subsection 3 ,
paragraph “c” , or at any time before the polls are closed.
Sec. 21. Section 53.39, subsection 1, Code 2020, is amended
to read as follows:
1. Section 53.2 does not apply in the case of a qualified
voter of the state of Iowa serving in the armed forces of the
United States. In any such case an application for ballot as
provided for in that section is not required and an An absent
voter’s ballot shall be sent or made available to any such
a qualified voter of the state of Iowa serving in the armed
forces of the United States upon a request as provided in this
subchapter .
Sec. 22. Section 53.45, subsection 4, Code 2020, is amended
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to read as follows:
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 53.49 ,
an eligible elector who requests a special absentee ballot
under this section may also make application for an absentee
ballot under section 53.2 or an armed forces absentee ballot
under section 53.40 . If the regular absentee or armed forces
absentee ballot is properly voted and returned, the special
absentee ballot is void and the commissioner shall reject it in
whole when special absentee ballots are canvassed.
Sec. 23. Section 53.49, Code 2020, is amended to read as
follows:
53.49 Applicable to armed forces and other citizens.
The provisions of this subchapter as to absent voting shall
apply only to absent voters in the armed forces of the United
States as defined for the purpose of absentee voting in section
53.37 . The provisions of section 53.1 and sections 53.1 53.4
through 53.34 shall apply to all other voters not members of
the armed forces of the United States.
Sec. 24. REPEAL. Sections 53.2 and 53.3, Code 2020, are
repealed.
Sec. 25. IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT. Section 25B.2, subsection
3, shall not apply to this Act.
Sec. 26. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to all elections
taking place on or after July 1, 2021.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
This bill relates to the mailing of absentee ballots.
The bill requires county commissioners of elections to
automatically mail absentee ballots to all registered voters
45 days before an election and to electronically confirm the
receipt of returned absentee ballots. Current law requires
registered voters to submit an application prior to receiving
an absentee ballot, and provides that commissioners mail
absentee ballots not earlier than 29 days before the election.
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The bill also allows county commissioners to establish drop
boxes at which voters or voters’ designees may deposit absentee
ballots. The special precinct election board must convene
starting on November 1 to begin counting ballots. The bill
requires the state commissioner of elections to adopt rules
regarding security measures for absentee ballot drop boxes.
The bill requires voter registration cards and absentee
ballots to include instructions on how absentee ballots may be
tracked by the voter. The bill may include a state mandate as
defined in Code section 25B.3. The bill makes inapplicable
Code section 25B.2, subsection 3, which would relieve a
political subdivision from complying with a state mandate if
funding for the cost of the state mandate is not provided or
specified. Therefore, political subdivisions are required to
comply with any state mandate included in the bill.
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