Bill Text: IA SSB1163 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the conduct and administration of elections, including voter registration, absentee voting, voter identity verification, signature verification, polling place prohibitions, commissioner certifications, and post-election audits, creating an electronic poll book revolving loan fund, making a related appropriation, and including penalties and applicability provisions.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (N/A - Dead) 2017-03-01 - Subcommittee recommends amendment and passage. [SSB1163 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-SSB1163-Introduced.html

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Senate Study Bill 1163 - Introduced
SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____
BY (PROPOSED SECRETARY OF
STATE BILL)
A BILL FOR
An Act relating to the conduct and administration of elections,
including voter registration, absentee voting, voter
identity verification, signature verification, polling place
prohibitions, commissioner certifications, and post-election
audits, creating an electronic poll book revolving loan
fund, making a related appropriation, and including
penalties and applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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DIVISION I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 1. Section 22.7, Code 2017, is amended by adding the
following new subsection:
NEW SUBSECTION . 70. The voter verification number, as
defined in section 53.2, subsection 4, paragraph “c” , that is
assigned to a voter and maintained and updated in the statewide
voter registration system.
Sec. 2. Section 39A.5, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code 2017,
is amended by adding the following new subparagraph:
NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (3) Violating any provision of chapter
48A for which another penalty is not provided.
Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 48A.24 Deadline for submitting voter
registration forms.
1. A person who accepts a completed voter registration form
from an applicant shall submit the form to the appropriate
commissioner within seven days of receiving the form if the
person accepting the form is doing so on behalf of any of the
following:
a. A political party, as defined in section 43.2.
b. A nonparty political organization required to nominate
candidates under chapter 44.
c. A candidate or committee, as defined in section 68A.102.
2. Notwithstanding the deadline in subsection 1, a person
described in subsection 1 who accepts a completed voter
registration form from an applicant within three days of the
voter registration deadline prescribed in section 48A.9 for
the next election shall submit the form to the appropriate
commissioner within twenty-four hours of accepting the form,
and not later than the registration deadline.
Sec. 4. Section 48A.30, subsection 1, Code 2017, is amended
by adding the following new paragraph:
NEW PARAGRAPH . 0f. The registered voter is not a resident
of Iowa, or the registered voter submits documentation under
section 607A.4, subsection 3, that indicates that the voter is
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not a citizen of the United States.
Sec. 5. Section 48A.31, Code 2017, is amended to read as
follows:
48A.31 Deceased persons record.
The state registrar of vital statistics shall transmit
or cause to be transmitted to the state registrar of voters,
once each calendar quarter, a certified list of all persons
seventeen and one-half years of age and older in the state
whose deaths have been reported to the bureau of vital records
of the Iowa department of public health since the previous list
of decedents was certified to the state registrar of voters.
The list shall be submitted according to the specifications
of the state registrar of voters and shall be transmitted to
the state registrar of voters without charge for production or
transmission . The commissioner shall, in the month following
the end of a calendar quarter, run the statewide voter
registration system’s matching program to determine whether a
listed decedent was registered to vote in the county and shall
immediately cancel the registration of any person named on the
list of decedents.
Sec. 6. Section 53.2, subsections 1, 4, and 8, Code 2017,
are amended to read as follows:
1. a. Any registered voter, under the circumstances
specified in section 53.1 , may on any day, except election day,
and not more than seventy one hundred twenty days prior to the
date of the election, apply in person for an absentee ballot
at the commissioner’s office or at any location designated by
the commissioner. However, for those elections in which the
commissioner directs the polls be opened at noon pursuant to
section 49.73 , a voter may apply in person for an absentee
ballot at the commissioner’s office from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00
a.m. on election day.
b. A registered voter may make written application to the
commissioner for an absentee ballot. A written application
for an absentee ballot must be received by the commissioner
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no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before the election
on the same day as the voter registration deadline provided
in section 48A.9 for the election for which the ballot is
requested, except when the absentee ballot is requested and
voted at the commissioner’s office pursuant to section 53.10 .
A written application for an absentee ballot delivered to the
commissioner and received by the commissioner more than seventy
one hundred twenty days prior to the date of the election shall
be retained by the commissioner and processed in the same
manner as a written application received not more than seventy
days before the date of the election returned to the voter
with a notification of the date when the applications will be
accepted .
4. a. Each application shall contain the following
information:
(1) The name and signature of the registered voter , the .
(2) The registered voter’s date of birth , the .
(3) The address at which the voter is registered to vote ,
and the .
(4) The registered voter’s voter verification number.
(5) The name or date of the election for which the absentee
ballot is requested , and such .
(6) Such other information as may be necessary to determine
the correct absentee ballot for the registered voter.
b. If insufficient information has been provided, including
the absence of a voter verification number, either on the
prescribed form or on an application created by the applicant,
the commissioner shall, by the best means available, obtain the
additional necessary information.
c. 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.
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8. An application for an absentee ballot that is returned
to the commissioner by a person acting as an actual or implied
agent for a political party, as defined in section 43.2, or by
a candidate , or committee, all both as defined by chapter 68A ,
shall be returned to the commissioner within seventy-two hours
of the time the completed application was received from the
applicant or no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before the
election, whichever is earlier.
Sec. 7. Section 53.10, Code 2017, is amended by adding the
following new subsection:
NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. A voter shall not vote or offer to
vote any ballot except such as the voter has received from
the commissioner. A voter voting an absentee ballot at the
commissioner’s office shall not take or remove any ballot from
the commissioner’s office.
Sec. 8. Section 53.11, Code 2017, is amended by adding the
following new subsection:
NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. A voter shall not vote or offer to
vote any ballot except such as the voter has received from the
commissioner. A voter shall not take or remove any ballot from
the satellite absentee voting station.
DIVISION II
VOTER IDENTITY AND SIGNATURE VERIFICATION
Sec. 9. Section 48A.7A, subsection 1, paragraph b,
subparagraph (1), subparagraph division (c), Code 2017, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) A United States military or veterans identification
card.
Sec. 10. NEW SECTION . 48A.10A Voter verification cards ——
verification of voter registration information.
1. The state registrar shall, each week, compare lists
of persons who registered to vote during the preceding week
with the department of transportation’s driver’s license and
nonoperator’s identification card files and shall issue a voter
verification card to each active, registered voter whose name
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does not appear in the department of transportation’s files.
2. A voter verification card issued under this section shall
be used only for voting and voter registration purposes.
3. A person issued a voter verification card under this
section shall not be charged any fee for the issuance or
delivery of the voter verification card.
4. Implementation of this section shall be contingent upon
appropriations by the general assembly in sufficient amounts to
meet the requirements of this section.
5. The state registrar shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter
17A to implement this section.
Sec. 11. Section 48A.38, subsection 1, paragraph f, Code
2017, is amended to read as follows:
f. The county commissioner of registration and the state
registrar of voters shall remove a voter’s whole or partial
social security number, as applicable, voter identification
number assigned by the state commissioner, Iowa driver’s
license number, or Iowa nonoperator’s identification card
number from a voter registration list prepared pursuant to this
section .
Sec. 12. Section 49.53, subsection 1, Code 2017, is amended
to read as follows:
1. The commissioner shall not less than four nor more than
twenty days before the day of each election, except those for
which different publication requirements are prescribed by law,
publish notice of the election. The notice shall contain a
facsimile of the portion of the ballot containing the first
rotation as prescribed by section 49.31, subsection 2 , and
shall show the names of all candidates or nominees and the
office each seeks, and all public questions, to be voted upon
at the election. The sample ballot published as a part of the
notice may at the discretion of the commissioner be reduced in
size relative to the actual ballot but such reduction shall
not cause upper case letters appearing in candidates’ names or
in summaries of public measures on the published sample ballot
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to be less than nine point type. The notice shall also state
the date of the election, the hours the polls will be open,
that each voter is required to provide identification at the
polling place before the voter can receive and cast a ballot,
the location of each polling place at which voting is to occur
in the election, and the names of the precincts voting at each
polling place, but the statement need not set forth any fact
which is apparent from the portion of the ballot appearing as
a part of the same notice. The notice shall include the full
text of all public measures to be voted upon at the election.
Sec. 13. Section 49.77, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph
1, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
The board members of their respective precincts shall have
charge of the ballots and shall furnish them to the voters
after verifying each voter’s identity pursuant to section
49.78 .
Sec. 14. Section 49.77, subsection 3, Code 2017, is amended
by striking the subsection.
Sec. 15. NEW SECTION . 49.78 Voter identity and signature
verification.
1. To ensure the integrity of, and to instill public
confidence in, all elections in this state the general assembly
finds that the verification of a voter’s identity is necessary
before a voter is permitted to receive and cast a ballot.
2. a. Before a precinct election official furnishes
a ballot to a voter under section 49.77, the voter shall
establish the voter’s identity by presenting the official with
one of the following forms of identification for verification:
(1) A voter verification card issued pursuant to section
48A.10A.
(2) An Iowa driver’s license issued pursuant to section
321.189.
(3) An Iowa nonoperator’s identification card issued
pursuant to section 321.190.
(4) A United States passport.
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(5) A United States military or veterans identification
card.
(6) A voter acknowledgment card issued by the commissioner
pursuant to sections 48A.26 through 48A.29 if the voter
acknowledgment card is signed before the voter presents the
card to the official.
b. Upon being presented with a form of identification under
this section, the precinct election official shall examine
the identification. The precinct election official shall
use the information on the identification card, including
the signature, to determine whether the person offering to
vote appears to be the person depicted on the identification
card. The voter’s signature shall generally be presumed to
be valid. If the signature on the identification appears to
have been signed by someone other than the person offering
to vote under section 49.77, the precinct election official
shall challenge the person offering to vote in the same manner
provided for other challenges by sections 49.79 and 49.80. A
person offering to vote who establishes identity by presenting
a veteran’s identification card that does not contain a
signature, is not subject to challenge under this paragraph “b” .
3. A person who is registered to vote but is unable to
present a form of identification listed under subsection 2 may
present other forms of identification listed in section 48A.7A,
subsection 1, paragraph “b” , to establish the voter’s identity
under this section.
4. A person who is registered to vote but is unable
to present a form of identification under subsection 2 or
3 may establish identity and residency in the precinct by
written oath of a person who is also registered to vote in
the precinct. The attesting registered voter’s oath shall
attest to the stated identity of the person wishing to vote
and that the person is a current resident of the precinct.
The oath must be signed by the attesting registered voter in
the presence of the appropriate precinct election official.
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A registered voter who has signed two oaths on election day
attesting to a person’s identity and residency as provided in
this subsection is prohibited from signing any further oaths as
provided in this subsection on that day.
5. The form of the written oath required of a registered
voter attesting to the identity and residency of the voter
unable to present a form of identification shall read as
follows:
I, ..... (name of attesting registered voter), do solemnly
swear or affirm all of the following:
I am a preregistered voter in this precinct or I registered to
vote in this precinct today, and a registered voter did not
sign an oath on my behalf. I have not signed more than one oath
attesting to the identity and residence of any other person in
this election.
I am a resident of the ... precinct, ... ward or township,
city of ....., county of ....., Iowa.
I reside at ....... (street address) in ..... (city or
township).
I personally know ..... (name of voter), and I personally know
that ..... (name of voter) is a resident of the ... precinct,
..... ward or township, city of ....., county of ....., Iowa.
I understand that any false statement in this oath is a class
“D” felony punishable by no more than five years in confinement
and a fine of at least seven hundred fifty dollars but not more
than seven thousand five hundred dollars.
.............
Signature of Attesting Registered Voter
Subscribed and sworn before me on .. (date).
.............
Signature of Precinct Election Official
6. A voter who is not otherwise disqualified from voting and
who has established identity under subsection 2, 3, or 4 shall
be furnished a ballot and be allowed to vote under section
49.77.
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7. A registered voter who fails to establish the voter’s
identity under this section shall be permitted to cast a
provisional ballot under section 49.81.
8. a. Notwithstanding subsection 7, for any election
conducted prior to January 1, 2019, a registered voter who
fails to establish the voter’s identity under this section
shall be permitted to vote upon signing an oath attesting to
the voter’s identity. The form of the written oath required of
the person voting under this subsection shall read as follows:
My name is ............., and I am a United States citizen,
at least eighteen years of age. I am the person named above, I
am a registered voter of this county, and I am eligible to vote
in this election.
.............
(signature of voter) (date)
b. This subsection is repealed July 1, 2019.
Sec. 16. Section 49.81, Code 2017, is amended by adding the
following new subsection:
NEW SUBSECTION . 1A. A prospective voter who is unable to
establish identity under section 49.78, subsection 2, paragraph
“a” , or section 49.78, subsection 3 or 4, shall be notified by
the appropriate precinct election official that the voter may
cast a provisional ballot. The voter shall mark the ballot and
immediately seal it in an envelope of the type prescribed by
subsection 4. The voter shall deliver the sealed envelope to a
precinct election official who shall deposit it in an envelope
marked “provisional ballots”. The ballot shall be considered
as having been cast in the special precinct established by
section 53.20 for purposes of the postelection canvass.
Sec. 17. Section 53.2, Code 2017, is amended by adding the
following new subsection:
NEW SUBSECTION . 4A. The commissioner may dispute an
application if it appears to the commissioner that the
signature on the application has been signed by someone other
than the registered voter, in comparing the signature on the
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application to the signature on record of the registered
voter named on the application. If the commissioner disputes
a registered voter’s application under this subsection,
the commissioner shall notify the registered voter and the
registered voter may submit a new application and signature or
update the registered voter’s signature on record, as provided
by rule adopted by the state commissioner.
Sec. 18. Section 53.18, subsection 3, Code 2017, is amended
to read as follows:
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. 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 .
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Sec. 19. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this division of
this Act or the application of any provision of this division
of this Act to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
invalidity shall not affect other provisions of the division
which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or
application of the invalid provisions, and to this end, the
provisions of the division are severable.
Sec. 20. APPLICABILITY. This division of this Act applies
to elections held on or after July 1, 2017.
DIVISION III
POLLING PLACES
Sec. 21. NEW SECTION . 47.11 Electronic poll book program
—— revolving loan fund.
1. An electronic poll book program is created and an
electronic poll book revolving loan fund is created in the
state treasury under the control of the state commissioner.
There is appropriated from the general fund of the state
to the revolving loan fund the sum of five hundred fifty
thousand dollars. The program and revolving loan fund shall
be administered by the state commissioner and the revolving
loan fund shall include moneys allocated from the state
commissioner’s budget and any other moneys obtained or accepted
by the state commissioner for deposit in the revolving loan
fund.
2. a. The state commissioner may loan moneys in the
revolving loan fund to county commissioners for the purchase or
update of electronic poll book technology.
b. Moneys loaned under this subsection shall be used, in
accordance with section 49.28, to furnish electronic poll books
to election precincts for the purpose of modernizing polling
places throughout the state.
c. The state commissioner may spend an amount not to
exceed thirty percent of the moneys in the revolving loan
fund at the beginning of a fiscal year to administer polling
place technology to ensure compliance with state standards
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of technological security and the protection of personally
identifiable information.
3. A loan made under this section shall bear no interest.
4. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or
earnings on moneys in the revolving loan fund shall be credited
to the revolving loan fund. Notwithstanding section 8.33,
moneys in the revolving loan fund that remain unencumbered or
unobligated at the close of a fiscal year shall not revert to
any other fund but shall remain available in the revolving loan
fund for the purposes designated.
5. The state commissioner shall adopt rules pursuant to
chapter 17A to administer this section.
Sec. 22. Section 49.88, subsection 1, Code 2017, is amended
to read as follows:
1. No more than one person shall be allowed to occupy
any voting booth at any time. The use of cameras, cellular
telephones, pagers, or other electronic communications devices
in the voting booth photographic devices and the display of
voted ballots is prohibited if such use or display is for
purposes prohibited under chapter 39A, interferes with other
voters, or interferes with the orderly operation of the polling
place .
DIVISION IV
ELECTION CERTIFICATION AND AUDITS
Sec. 23. NEW SECTION . 49.128 Commissioner filings and
notifications.
1. By March 1 in the year next following a general election,
the commissioner shall place on file a certification that the
county met the following requirements at the general election:
a. The testing of voting equipment was performed, as
required under section 52.35.
b. The election personnel training course was conducted, as
required under section 49.124.
c. Polling places met accessibility standards, as required
under section 49.21.
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d. The schedule of required publications was adhered to, as
required under section 49.53.
e. The commissioner has complied with administrative rules
adopted by the state commissioner under chapter 52, including
having a written voting system security plan.
2. The certification under this section shall include a copy
of the results of the audit, if required, under section 50.51.
3. The commissioner shall file a copy of the certification
under this section with the state commissioner.
4. The commissioner shall promptly notify the state
commissioner of each suspected incidence of election misconduct
that the commissioner has referred to other agencies or law
enforcement for investigation.
5. The state commissioner shall prescribe a form for use by
the county commissioners.
Sec. 24. Section 50.12, Code 2017, is amended to read as
follows:
50.12 Return and preservation of ballots.
Immediately after making the proclamation, and before
separating, the board members of each precinct in which votes
have been received by paper ballot shall enclose in an envelope
or other container all ballots which have been counted by them,
except those endorsed “Rejected as double”, “Defective”, or
“Objected to”, and securely seal the envelope. The signatures
of all board members of the precinct shall be placed across
the seal or the opening of the container so that it cannot
be opened without breaking the seal. The precinct election
officials shall return all the ballots to the commissioner, who
shall carefully preserve them for six months. Ballots from
elections for federal offices shall be preserved for twenty-two
months. The sealed packages containing voted ballots shall
be opened only for an official recount authorized by section
50.48 , 50.49 , or 50.50 , for an election contest held pursuant
to chapters 57 through 62 , to conduct an audit pursuant to
section 50.51, or to destroy the ballots pursuant to section
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50.19 .
Sec. 25. NEW SECTION . 50.51 Election audits.
1. In February of each odd-numbered year, the state
commissioner shall, with the cooperation of the county
commissioners, conduct an audit of the official canvass of
votes from the preceding general election.
2. The state commissioner shall determine the number of
counties and precincts to be audited and shall select the
precincts to be audited by lot. The absentee ballot and
special voters precinct for each county, established pursuant
to section 53.20, shall be included with all other precincts of
the county for selection by lot. In every precinct selected,
the commissioner shall conduct a hand count of all ballots cast
in the preceding general election for president of the United
States or governor, as the case may be. The hand count shall
be observed by a representative selected by each of the two
political parties whose candidates received the highest number
of votes statewide in the preceding general election.
3. The audit conducted pursuant to subsection 1 shall
include an audit of the official canvass of votes for the
office of president of the United States or governor.
4. The results of an audit conducted pursuant to this
section shall not change the results, or invalidate the
certification, of an election.
5. In advance of any other election, the state commissioner
may order an audit of the election in the manner provided in
this section.
6. The state commissioner shall adopt rules, pursuant to
chapter 17A, to implement this section.
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 conduct and administration of
elections, including voter registration, absentee voting,
voter identity and signature verification, polling place
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prohibitions, county commissioner of elections certifications,
post-election audits, and creation of an electronic poll book
program and revolving loan fund.
Division I of the bill relates to the conduct and
administration of elections generally. The bill requires a
person, while acting on behalf of a political party, a nonparty
political organization, or a candidate or committee subject
to Iowa’s campaign finance laws, who accepts a completed
voter registration form from an applicant to submit the form
to the appropriate county commissioner of elections (county
auditor) within seven days of receiving the form. The bill
also provides that if the person accepts a completed voter
registration form within three days of a voter registration
deadline, the person must submit the form to the appropriate
commissioner within 24 hours of accepting the form, and not
later than the registration deadline for the next election.
By operation of current law, failure to timely submit such a
form would constitute a simple misdemeanor. The bill also
makes it a simple misdemeanor to violate any provision of Code
chapter 48A, related to voter registration, for which another
penalty is not provided. A simple misdemeanor is punishable by
confinement for no more than 30 days or a fine of at least $65
but not more than $625 or by both.
Division I requires county commissioners to cancel the voter
registration of a registered voter if the registered voter
is not a resident of Iowa or submits jury service-related
documentation that indicates that the voter is not a citizen of
the United States.
Division I of the bill also requires the state registrar of
vital statistics to produce and transmit certain lists to the
state registrar of voters (secretary of state) without charge.
Division I changes the time period to apply for an absentee
ballot from not more than 70 days before the election to not
more than 120 days before the election. The bill further
provides that an application received more than 120 days
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before the election shall be returned to the applicant along
with notification of when the applications will be accepted.
Current law requires the commissioner to retain the application
and process it with other applications received within the
appropriate time period.
The bill requires that an application for an absentee ballot
contain the applicant’s voter verification number, defined in
the bill as the voter’s identification number assigned by the
state commissioner, driver’s license number, or nonoperator’s
identification card number. Under the bill, a person’s
voter identification number, driver’s license number, or
nonoperator’s identification number is considered to be a voter
verification number, which is required to be kept confidential.
The bill also changes the absentee ballot application deadline
from the Friday before the election to the same deadline as
voter registration for a given election under Code section
48A.9, which is either 11 or 10 days before the election.
Division I prohibits a voter from voting or offering to
vote a ballot in the commissioner’s office or at a satellite
absentee voting station that was not furnished to the voter
by the commissioner. The bill also prohibits a voter from
taking or removing any ballot from the commissioner’s office
or a satellite absentee voting station. Current law expressly
prohibits these actions at precinct polling places.
Division II of the bill relates to identity and signature
verification for certain voter registrants and voters. The
bill changes the requirements for establishing identity and
residence for persons registering to vote in-person absentee or
on election day by adding veterans identification cards issued
by the United States to the list of acceptable photographic
identification for establishing identity.
Division II of the bill requires the state registrar of
voters to compare lists of voters who registered to vote during
the preceding week with the department of transportation’s
driver’s license and nonoperator’s identification card
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files. Under the bill, the state registrar is required
to issue a free voter verification card, including a voter
identification number, to be used only for voting and voter
registration purposes, to registrants whose names do not appear
in the department’s files. Under the bill, providing voter
verification cards is contingent upon adequate appropriations.
Division II of the bill also requires election officials
to verify a voter’s identity before furnishing a ballot
to the voter. A voter at the polling place is required to
present the official with a voter verification card, an Iowa
driver’s license, an Iowa nonoperator’s identification card, a
United States passport, a United States military or veterans
identification card, or a voter acknowledgment card issued by
the county commissioner in order to verify the voter’s identity
before the voter can receive a ballot. Under the bill, a voter
may also present the forms of identification required for
election day and in-person absentee voter registration or have
their identity and residency attested to by another registered
voter in order to verify the voter’s identity. Under the bill,
a registered voter is allowed to attest to the identity and
residency of not more than two other voters on election day.
If the voter fails to establish the voter’s identity by the
methods provided in the bill, the voter may vote a provisional
ballot. A voter may also vote in the usual manner by signing
an oath attesting to the voter’s identity at any election
conducted prior to January 1, 2019.
The bill also requires that county commissioners include
information on the verification of voter identities in the
notice of each election published under Code section 49.53.
Division II requires precinct election officials to examine
a voter’s identification to determine whether the person
offering to vote matches the identification card, including
the voter’s signature. The bill requires an election official
to challenge a person offering to vote if it appears to the
official that the signature on the person’s identification
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was signed by someone other than the person offering to
vote. If the challenge is not withdrawn, the voter may vote a
provisional ballot.
Related to absentee voting, division II of the bill provides
that a county commissioner may dispute an application for
an absentee ballot if it appears to the commissioner that
the signature on the application has been signed by someone
other than the registered voter, in comparing the signature on
the application to the signature on record of the registered
voter named on the application. If the commissioner disputes
a registered voter’s application under this subsection, the
commissioner is required to notify the registered voter and
the registered voter is permitted to submit a new application
and signature or update the registered voter’s signature
on record. The bill also requires county commissioners to
consider absentee ballots to be defective if it appears to
the commissioner that the signature on the envelope marked
with the affidavit 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.
Under the bill, the provisions of division II and their
application are severable.
Division II of the bill applies to elections held on or after
July 1, 2017.
Division III of the bill relates to polling places by
creating an electronic poll book program and revolving loan
fund and by regulating the use of photographic devices and the
display of voted ballots.
Division III creates an electronic poll book program and
revolving loan fund in the state treasury. Under the bill,
the state commissioner of elections (secretary of state)
is required to administer the fund. The bill appropriates
$550,000 from the state general fund to the revolving loan
fund. Moneys in the fund may also include moneys allocated
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from the state commissioner’s budget and any other moneys
obtained or accepted by the state commissioner for deposit in
the revolving loan fund. The state commissioner is allowed to
loan moneys in the revolving loan fund to county commissioners
to purchase or update electronic poll book technology. Under
the bill, the state commissioner is allowed to spend 30 percent
of the moneys in the revolving loan fund to administer polling
place technology.
Division III also provides that interest or earnings on
moneys in the revolving loan fund are credited to the fund and
moneys in the revolving loan fund that remain unencumbered or
unobligated at the close of a fiscal year remain available in
the revolving loan fund.
Division III strikes a provision of current law that
prohibits the use of all cameras, cellular telephones, pagers,
or other electronic communications devices in a voting booth
and provides that the use of photographic devices and the
display of voted ballots is prohibited if that use or display
is for purposes of election misconduct, interferes with other
voters, or interferes with the orderly operation of the polling
place.
Division IV of the bill requires each county commissioner
to place on file a certification that the county met voting
equipment testing, election personnel training, polling place
accessibility, publications, and certain administrative rule
requirements at each general election. The certification
is also required to include a copy of the results of
election audits, described in division IV of the bill. The
county commissioner is also required to file a copy of the
certification with the state commissioner. The bill further
requires the commissioner to promptly notify the state
commissioner of each suspected incidence of election misconduct
that the commissioner has referred to other agencies or law
enforcement for investigation.
Division IV of the bill also requires the state commissioner
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to complete a post-election audit of each general election.
The bill requires the state commissioner to determine the
number of counties and precincts to be audited and to select
precincts to be audited in a county, by lot. The audit is
required to be a hand count of ballots for the office of
president of the United States or governor, as the case may be,
and shall include an audit of the official canvass of votes.
Division IV of the bill provides that the results of an audit
shall not change the results, or invalidate the certification,
of an election.
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