Bill Text: IA SF399 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Enrolled

Iowa Senate Bill 399 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the conduct of elections, including general election ballot vacancies, voter registration, elections administration, absentee voting, and vacancies on school boards and merged area governing boards and including effective date and applicability provisions. (Formerly SSB 1104.) Various effective dates; see section 11 of bill.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Passed) 2017-05-10 - Signed by Governor. S.J. 1135. [SF399 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-SF399-Enrolled.html

Senate File 399 - Enrolled

SENATE FILE
BY COMMITTEE ON STATE
GOVERNMENT

(SUCCESSOR TO SSB
1104)
\5
A BILL FOR
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Senate File 399

AN ACT
RELATING TO THE CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS, INCLUDING GENERAL
ELECTION BALLOT VACANCIES, VOTER REGISTRATION, ELECTIONS
ADMINISTRATION, ABSENTEE VOTING, AND VACANCIES ON SCHOOL
BOARDS AND MERGED AREA GOVERNING BOARDS AND INCLUDING
EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY PROVISIONS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
DIVISION I
CANDIDATE WITHDRAWAL
Section 1. Section 43.78, Code 2017, is amended by adding
the following new subsection:
NEW SUBSECTION. 5. Any candidate nominated to fill a
vacancy in accordance with this section may withdraw the
candidate's nomination by a written request filed as follows:
a. In the office of the state commissioner, at least
seventy=four days before the date of the election.
b. In the office of the proper commissioner, at least
sixty=four days before the date of the election.
c. In the office of the state commissioner, in case of a
special election to fill vacancies in Congress or the general
assembly, not more than:
(1) Twenty days after the date on which the governor issues
the call for a special election to be held on at least forty
days' notice.
(2) Five days after the date on which the governor issues
the call for a special election to be held on at least ten but
less than forty days' notice.
d. In the office of the proper commissioner or the state
commissioner, as applicable, in case of a special election to
fill vacancies, at least twenty=five days before the day of
election.
DIVISION II
VOTER REGISTRATION
Sec. 2. Section 48A.27, subsection 2, paragraph a,
subparagraph (1), Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
(1) A signed, written notice to the county commissioner
in person, by mail, by facsimile, or by electronic mail
submission.
DIVISION III
ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATION GENERALLY
Sec. 3. Section 49.16, subsection 5, Code 2017, is amended
to read as follows:
5. A person shall not serve on the precinct election board
as a representative of a political party if the person has
changed political party affiliation from that of the political
party which selected the person to serve as a precinct election
official. If a precinct election official records a change
of political party, the official's name shall be removed from
the list of precinct election officials for that political
party. The chairperson of the political party shall be
notified of the vacancy and may designate a replacement. If
the chairperson of another political party later designates the
person as a precinct election official, the person may serve,
if qualified. If a precinct election official serving on the
board as a representative of a political party records a change
of political party to vote absentee under chapter 53 and after
voting absentee records a change of political party back to
the political party the official represents on the precinct
election board, the official's name shall be removed from the
list of precinct election officials for that election. The
chairperson of the political party shall be notified of the
vacancy and may designate a replacement for that election.
Sec. 4. Section 49.104, subsection 7, Code 2017, is amended
to read as follows:
7. Any person authorized by the commissioner, in
consultation with the secretary of state, for the purposes of
conducting and attending educational voting programs for youth.
DIVISION IV
ABSENTEE VOTING
Sec. 5. Section 53.8, subsection 3, paragraph a, Code 2017,
is amended to read as follows:
a. When an application for an absentee ballot is received
by the commissioner of any county from 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 appeals.
Sec. 6. Section 53.22, Code 2017, is amended to read as
follows:
53.22 Balloting by confined persons.
1. For purposes of this section, "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
appeals.
1. 2. a. (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.
(2) If materials are prepared for the two special precinct
election officials, a list shall be made of all voters to whom
ballots are to be delivered. The list shall be sent with the
officials who deliver the ballots and shall include spaces
to indicate whether the person was present at the hospital,
assisted living program, or health care facility when the
officials arrived, whether the person requested assistance
from the officials, whether the person was assisted by another
person of the voter's choice, the time that the ballot was
returned to the officials, and any other notes the officials
deem necessary.
(3) The officials shall also be issued a supply of extra
ballots to replace spoiled ballots. Receipts shall be
issued in substantially the same form as receipts issued to
precinct election officials pursuant to section 49.65. All
ballots shall be accounted for and shall be returned to the
commissioner. Separate envelopes shall be provided for the
return of spoiled ballots and unused ballots.
b. If an applicant under this subsection notifies the
commissioner that the applicant 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 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 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 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, if requested, may assist the applicant
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.
2. 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 procedure prescribed by section 53.2, 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.
3. 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 1 2,
mail an absentee ballot to an applicant 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 a single health care facility, assisted
living program, or hospital if there are no more than two
applications from that facility, program, or hospital.
4. 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.
5. 6. a. If the registered voter becomes a patient,
tenant, or resident of a hospital, assisted living program,
or health care facility outside the county where the voter is
registered to vote within three days before the date of any
election or on election day, the voter may designate a person
to deliver and return the absentee ballot. The designee may
be any person the voter chooses except that no candidate for
any office to be voted upon for the election for which the
ballot is requested may deliver a ballot under this subsection.
The request for an absentee ballot 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, the ballot shall be
delivered by mail or by the person designated by the voter. An
application form shall be included with the absentee ballot and
shall be signed by the voter and returned with the ballot.
b. Absentee ballots voted under this subsection shall be
delivered to the commissioner no later than the time the polls
are closed on election day. If the ballot is returned by mail
the return envelope must be received by the time the polls
close, or be clearly postmarked by an officially authorized
postal service or bear an intelligent mail barcode traceable
to a date of entry into the federal mail system not later than
the day before the election and received by the commissioner no
later than the time established for the canvass by the board of
supervisors for that election.
6. 7. Observers representing candidates, political
parties, or nonparty political organizations, or observers who
are opponents or proponents of a ballot issue to be voted on at
the election are prohibited from being present at a hospital,
assisted living program, or health care facility during the
time the special precinct election officers are delivering
absentee ballots to the patients, tenants, or residents of such
hospital, assisted living program, or health care facility.
Sec. 7. Section 53.37, subsection 3, paragraph e, Code 2017,
is amended to read as follows:
e. Citizens of the United States who do not fall under any
of the categories described in paragraphs "a" through "d",
but who are entitled to register and vote pursuant to section
48A.5, subsection 4 or 5.
Sec. 8. NEW SECTION. 231C.21 Certification list to county
commissioner of elections.
To facilitate the implementation of section 53.8, subsection
3, and section 53.22, the director shall provide to each county
commissioner of elections at least annually a list of each
certified dementia=specific assisted living program in that
county. The list shall include the street address or location,
and the mailing address if it is other than the street address
or location, of each program.
DIVISION V
SCHOOL ELECTIONS
Sec. 9. Section 260C.11, subsection 1, Code 2017, is amended
to read as follows:
1. The governing board of a merged area is a board of
directors composed of one member elected from each director
district in the area by the electors of the respective
district. Members of the board shall be residents of the
district from which elected. Successors shall be chosen at
the regular school elections for members whose terms expire.
The term of a member of the board of directors is four years
and commences at the organizational meeting. Vacancies on
the board shall be filled at the next regular meeting of the
board by appointment by the remaining members of the board. A
member so chosen shall be a resident of the district in which
the vacancy occurred and shall serve until a member is elected
pursuant to at the next school election or intervening special
election held for the merged area, in accordance with section
69.12 to fill the vacancy for the balance of the unexpired
term. A vacancy is defined in section 277.29. A member shall
not serve on the board of directors who is a member of a board
of directors of a local school district or a member of an area
education agency board.
Sec. 10. Section 279.6, subsection 1, paragraph b,
subparagraphs (1) and (2), Code 2017, are amended to read as
follows:
(1) If within fourteen days after publication of a notice
required pursuant to paragraph "a" for a vacancy that occurs
more than one hundred eighty days before the next regular
school election, or after the filing period closes pursuant
to section 277.4, subsection 1, for the next regular school
election, there is filed with the secretary of the school board
a petition requesting a special election to fill the vacancy,
an appointment to fill the vacancy is temporary until a
successor is elected and qualified, and the board shall call a
special election pursuant to section 279.7, to fill the vacancy
for the remaining balance of the unexpired term.
(2) If within fourteen days after publication of a notice
required pursuant to paragraph "a" for a vacancy that occurs one
hundred eighty days or less but more than forty days before the
next regular school election there is filed with the secretary
of the school board a petition requesting to fill the vacancy
by election, an appointment to fill the vacancy is temporary
until a successor is elected and qualified, and the school
board shall require that the remaining balance of the unexpired
term be filled at the next regular school election.
Sec. 11. EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT. The section of this
division of this Act amending section 260C.11, being deemed of
immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
Sec. 12. RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY. The section of
this division of this Act amending section 260C.11 applies
retroactively to July 1, 2016.

JACK WHITVER

LINDA UPMEYER

W. CHARLES SMITH

TERRY E. BRANSTA

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