HF 2256 (LSB 5754YH (4) 88)

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:

    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.
   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 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 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 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 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.
   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 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:
   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 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 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 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 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 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. 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.