House Resolution 21 - Introduced HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 21 BY GASKILL , OLSON , SMITH , HUNTER , STECKMAN , ABDUL-SAMAD , BERRY , KEARNS , OURTH , T. TAYLOR , ANDERSON , BEARINGER , FINKENAUER , H. MILLER , THEDE , HANSON , PRICHARD , STUTSMAN , MASCHER , LENSING , GAINES , COHOON , BROWN-POWERS , KELLEY , FORBES , STAED , WOLFE , HEDDENS , HALL , WINCKLER , GASSMAN , JACOBY , and DAWSON A Resolution urging the United States Postal Service 1 to ensure the postmarking of all absentee ballot 2 materials mailed through the postal service. 3 WHEREAS, voting is a fundamental right protective 4 of all other constitutionally guaranteed rights, and 5 all levels of government must protect the fundamental 6 constitutional right of every American to vote to 7 ensure that the Constitution’s promise is fully 8 realized; and 9 WHEREAS, the expansion of voting rights did not 10 happen overnight, but was instead the product of a 11 continued struggle by many people over many decades to 12 expand the electorate to include individuals who did 13 not own property, women, people of color, and young 14 adults who had previously been denied participation in 15 the electoral franchise; and 16 WHEREAS, in the 2012 presidential election 679,118 17 Iowans, totaling 43 percent of all Iowa voters, cast 18 their votes by absentee ballot; and 19 WHEREAS, in the 2014 gubernatorial election 469,185 20 Iowans, totaling 41 percent of all Iowa voters, cast 21 their votes by absentee ballot; and 22 -1- LSB 2614YH (3) 86 aw/sc 1/ 3

H.R. 21 WHEREAS, county commissioners of elections in Iowa 1 regularly receive hundreds of absentee ballots through 2 the United States Postal Service during each regular 3 school, regular city, primary, and general election in 4 return envelopes that are not postmarked by the United 5 States Postal Service; and 6 WHEREAS, on October 30, 2014, Senator Chuck Grassley 7 (R-IA) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) cosigned a letter 8 to United States Postal Service district managers 9 to “respectfully request that [the Postal Service] 10 instruct your staff across the states to take the 11 actions necessary to ensure that every ballot is 12 postmarked and thus ensure that every Iowa vote that is 13 properly cast can also be properly counted”; and 14 WHEREAS, despite repeated requests by Iowa’s state 15 and federal elected officials to seek administrative 16 solutions to provide for the postmarking of every Iowa 17 absentee ballot, such requests have not resulted in 18 uniform compliance across Iowa’s 99 counties; and 19 WHEREAS, postal service has been a vital buttress of 20 American democracy since our country’s founding when 21 Benjamin Franklin served under the Continental Congress 22 as the first United States Postmaster General; NOW 23 THEREFORE, 24 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE, That the House of 25 Representatives joins United States Senator Chuck 26 Grassley and Former United States Senator Tom Harkin in 27 respectfully requesting that the United States Postal 28 Service instruct all its staff to take the actions 29 necessary to ensure that every ballot returned through 30 -2- LSB 2614YH (3) 86 aw/sc 2/ 3

H.R. 21 the United States Postal Service for every election in 1 this state is postmarked, thereby ensuring that each 2 Iowa vote that is properly cast can also be properly 3 counted; and 4 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of 5 Representatives respectfully requests that the 6 Secretary of State consult with the Postmaster General 7 of the United States, the District Manager of the 8 Hawkeye District of the United States Postal Service, 9 and the District Manager of the Central Plains District 10 of the United States Postal Service to search for 11 administrative solutions to ensure that every ballot 12 returned through the United States Postal Service 13 can be and is postmarked by the United States Postal 14 Service; and 15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Chief Clerk of 16 the House of Representatives shall transmit certified 17 copies of this Resolution to each member of the Iowa 18 congressional delegation, the United States Postmaster 19 General, the District Manager of the Hawkeye District 20 of the United States Postal Service, and the District 21 Manager of the Central Plains District of the United 22 States Postal Service. 23 -3- LSB 2614YH (3) 86 aw/sc 3/ 3