Text: H08158 Text: H08160 Text: H08100 - H08199 Text: H Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Amend House File 2472 as follows:
1 2 #1. Page 1, by inserting before line 9, the
1 3 following:
1 4 "Sec. . NEW SECTION. 39.2A MAIL BALLOT
1 5 ELECTIONS.
1 6 All mail ballot elections shall be conducted
1 7 pursuant to chapter 49B."
1 8 #2. Page 18, by inserting after line 31, the
1 9 following:
1 10 "Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.1 MAIL BALLOT
1 11 ELECTIONS – PILOT PROJECT.
1 12 1. The state commissioner of elections shall
1 13 implement a pilot project applying the provisions of
1 14 this chapter to eligible cities in one county in the
1 15 state. The county selected for the pilot project
1 16 shall be a county with a population of more than
1 17 eighty-five thousand but less than ninety thousand and
1 18 which has five or more cities with a population of two
1 19 hundred or less.
1 20 2. A mail ballot election may be conducted in a
1 21 city with a population of two hundred or less that is
1 22 located in the pilot project county as provided in
1 23 this chapter.
1 24 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.2 DEFINITIONS.
1 25 As used in this chapter, unless the context
1 26 otherwise requires:
1 27 1. "Election day" is the date established by law
1 28 on which a particular election would be held if that
1 29 election were being conducted by means other than a
1 30 mail ballot election.
1 31 2. "Return verification envelope" means an
1 32 envelope that contains a secrecy envelope and that is
1 33 designed to allow election officials, upon examination
1 34 of the outside of the envelope, to determine that the
1 35 ballot is being submitted by someone who is in fact a
1 36 registered voter and who has not already voted.
1 37 3. "Secrecy envelope" means an envelope that is
1 38 used to contain the elector's ballot and that is
1 39 designed to conceal the voter's vote and to prevent
1 40 the voter's ballot from being distinguished from the
1 41 ballots of other voters.
1 42 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.3 MAIL BALLOT
1 43 ELECTION PROCEDURE.
1 44 The state commissioner of elections shall prescribe
1 45 uniform procedures and forms to be used in the conduct
1 46 of mail ballot elections.
1 47 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.4 INITIATION BY
1 48 GOVERNING BODY.
1 49 1. If the city council of a city with a population
1 50 of two hundred or less determines that it is
2 1 economically and administratively feasible to conduct
2 2 the regular city election or a special city election
2 3 by mail, the city council, by resolution, may require
2 4 the county commissioner of elections to conduct the
2 5 election under this chapter by filing the resolution
2 6 with the county commissioner not later than ninety
2 7 days before the date of the election.
2 8 2. After the resolution is filed, the county
2 9 commissioner shall prepare a written plan for conduct
2 10 of the election as provided in section 49B.5. At
2 11 least seventy-one days before the date set for the
2 12 election, the county commissioner shall forward a copy
2 13 of the written plan to the city council concerned.
2 14 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.5 WRITTEN PLAN FOR
2 15 CONDUCT OF ELECTION – AMENDMENTS – APPROVAL
2 16 PROCEDURE.
2 17 1. The county commissioner shall prepare a written
2 18 plan, including a timetable, for the conduct of a mail
2 19 ballot election and shall submit it to the state
2 20 commissioner of elections at least seventy-one days
2 21 before the date of the election.
2 22 2. The plan may be amended by the county
2 23 commissioner any time before the sixty-fourth day
2 24 before the date of the election by notifying the state
2 25 commissioner of elections in writing of any changes.
2 26 3. Within five days after receiving the plan, and
2 27 as soon as possible after receiving any amendments,
2 28 the state commissioner of elections shall approve,
2 29 disapprove, or recommend changes to the plan or
2 30 amendments. The final plan shall be approved and
2 31 available to the public at least two days before the
2 32 deadline for candidates to file nomination papers in
2 33 the office of the city clerk.
2 34 4. When the written plan has been approved, the
2 35 county commissioner shall proceed to conduct the
2 36 election according to the approved plan.
2 37 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.6 PUBLICATION OF
2 38 NOTICE.
2 39 The county commissioner shall, not more than ten
2 40 days and not less than four days before the date that
2 41 ballots are to be mailed, publish notice that a mail
2 42 ballot election will be conducted. The notice shall
2 43 be published in a newspaper of general circulation in
2 44 each city for which the mail ballot election will be
2 45 conducted. The notice shall include all of the
2 46 following information:
2 47 1. The date ballots will be mailed.
2 48 2. The last day that a voter can request an
2 49 absentee ballot.
2 50 3. Voter registration deadlines.
3 1 4. Location or locations where mail ballots can be
3 2 deposited pursuant to section 49B.13.
3 3 5. Instructions for obtaining a replacement ballot
3 4 if a voter's ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or
3 5 not received pursuant to section 49B.9.
3 6 The county commissioner is not required to publish
3 7 a sample ballot.
3 8 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.7 MAILING BALLOTS.
3 9 1. Official ballots for a mail ballot election
3 10 shall be prepared and all other initial procedures for
3 11 elections shall be followed as otherwise provided by
3 12 law.
3 13 2. The county commissioner of elections shall mail
3 14 an official ballot to every registered voter of the
3 15 city conducting the election on a date not sooner than
3 16 the twentieth day before the date of the election and
3 17 not later than the tenth day before the date of the
3 18 election. An exception shall be made for those
3 19 ballots delivered as prescribed in section 49B.12.
3 20 3. All ballots shall be mailed by first class
3 21 mail.
3 22 4. Ballots mailed by the county commissioner shall
3 23 be addressed to the address of each voter appearing in
3 24 the registration records of the city, and placed in an
3 25 envelope which is prominently marked "Do Not Forward".
3 26 5. The ballot shall contain the following warning:
3 27 "Any person who, by use of violence, threats of
3 28 violence, or any means of duress, procures the vote of
3 29 a voter for or against any measure or candidate is
3 30 subject, upon conviction, to imprisonment or to a
3 31 fine, or both."
3 32 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.8 REGISTRATION.
3 33 The county commissioner shall not mail a ballot
3 34 under this chapter to any voter not registered thirty
3 35 days before the date of the election. Voters
3 36 registered less than thirty days before the date of
3 37 the election, but before the close of registration,
3 38 may apply for a ballot under section 49B.9.
3 39 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.9 REPLACEMENT
3 40 BALLOTS.
3 41 If the mail ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or
3 42 not received by the voter, the voter may obtain a
3 43 replacement ballot from the county commissioner as
3 44 provided in this section. A voter seeking a
3 45 replacement ballot shall sign a statement, on a form
3 46 prescribed by the state commissioner, that the ballot
3 47 was destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received. The
3 48 voter or the voter's designee shall deliver the
3 49 statement to the county commissioner before noon on
3 50 the date of the election. The voter may mail the
4 1 statement to the county commissioner. However, a
4 2 county commissioner shall not transmit a ballot by
4 3 mail under this section unless the statement is
4 4 received before five p.m. on the fourth day before the
4 5 date of the election. When a statement is timely
4 6 received under this section, the county commissioner
4 7 shall give the ballot to the voter if the voter is
4 8 present in the office of the county commissioner, or
4 9 promptly mail the ballot to the voter at the address
4 10 contained in the statement, except when prohibited by
4 11 this section. If the voter is present in the county
4 12 commissioner's office, the ballot shall be voted at
4 13 that time. The county commissioner shall keep a
4 14 record of each replacement ballot provided under this
4 15 section. If a voter, having received and voted a
4 16 replacement ballot as provided under this section,
4 17 later finds the lost ballot, the voter shall return
4 18 the lost ballot to the county commissioner.
4 19 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.10 VOTING AND RETURN
4 20 OF BALLOT.
4 21 1. A registered voter, upon receipt of a mail
4 22 ballot, shall mark the ballot in such a manner that no
4 23 other person will know how the ballot is marked and
4 24 shall place it in the secrecy envelope provided with
4 25 the ballot.
4 26 A voter who is blind, cannot read, or because of a
4 27 physical disability is unable to mark the ballot, may
4 28 be assisted by any person selected by the voter.
4 29 2. The voter shall place the secrecy envelope
4 30 containing the ballot in the return verification
4 31 envelope and sign and securely seal the return
4 32 verification envelope. The sealed return verification
4 33 envelope shall be returned to the county commissioner
4 34 by one of the following methods:
4 35 a. The sealed return verification envelope may be
4 36 delivered by the registered voter or the voter's
4 37 designee to the county commissioner's office or a
4 38 place designated by the commissioner no later than the
4 39 time the polls close on election day.
4 40 b. The sealed return verification envelope may be
4 41 mailed, postage paid, to the county commissioner. In
4 42 order for the ballot to be counted, the return
4 43 verification envelope must be clearly postmarked by an
4 44 officially authorized postal service not later than
4 45 the day before the election and received by the county
4 46 commissioner not later than the time established for
4 47 the canvass by the board of supervisors for that
4 48 election. The county commissioner shall contact the
4 49 post office serving the county commissioner's office
4 50 at the latest practical hour before the canvass by the
5 1 board of supervisors for that election, and shall
5 2 arrange for return verification envelopes received in
5 3 that post office but not yet delivered to the
5 4 commissioner's office to be brought to the
5 5 commissioner's office before the canvass for that
5 6 election by the board of supervisors.
5 7 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.11 ABSENTEE BALLOTS.
5 8 1. A registered voter who will be absent from the
5 9 city during the time when the ballots are mailed may
5 10 do either of the following:
5 11 a. Vote in person in the county commissioner's
5 12 office as soon as ballots are available and until noon
5 13 the day before the ballots are scheduled to be mailed.
5 14 b. Make a written request, signed by the voter and
5 15 addressed to the county commissioner, that the ballot
5 16 be mailed to an address other than that which appears
5 17 on the voter's registration record. Written requests
5 18 shall be accepted until noon the day before the
5 19 ballots are scheduled to be mailed.
5 20 2. Ballots mailed to voters pursuant to this
5 21 section shall be mailed the same day that all other
5 22 ballots are mailed.
5 23 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.12 BALLOTING BY
5 24 CONFINED PERSONS.
5 25 A person who is a resident or patient in a health
5 26 care facility or hospital located in the county in
5 27 which the election is to be held shall not be mailed a
5 28 ballot but shall have a ballot delivered in the manner
5 29 prescribed by section 53.22, subsection 1.
5 30 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.13 PERSONAL DELIVERY
5 31 OF MAIL BALLOT – BALLOT DROPOFF STATIONS.
5 32 A ballot dropoff station for the deposit of mail
5 33 ballots may be established in the city conducting the
5 34 mail ballot election at the direction of the county
5 35 commissioner. A ballot dropoff station established at
5 36 the direction of the commissioner shall be open from
5 37 eight a.m. until five p.m. on the day of the election.
5 38 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.14 RECEIPT OF BALLOT
5 39 – SIGNATURE VERIFICATION.
5 40 When a mail ballot is returned, the county
5 41 commissioner, or the county commissioner's designees,
5 42 shall first examine the return verification envelope
5 43 to determine whether it was submitted by a registered
5 44 voter who has not previously voted. A ballot shall be
5 45 counted only if it is returned in the return
5 46 verification envelope, the envelope is signed by the
5 47 voter to whom the ballot is issued, and the signature
5 48 has been verified as provided in this section.
5 49 The county commissioner or the county
5 50 commissioner's designees shall verify the signature of
6 1 each voter on the return verification envelope with
6 2 the signature in the voter's registration records and
6 3 may commence verification at any time before election
6 4 day. If a voter to whom a replacement ballot has been
6 5 issued under section 49B.9 returns more than one
6 6 ballot, only the replacement ballot shall be counted.
6 7 If the voter's signature is verified and the ballot
6 8 is otherwise valid, the county commissioner or the
6 9 county commissioner's designees shall deposit the
6 10 ballot unopened in an official ballot box.
6 11 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.15 PROCEDURE FOR
6 12 INVALID BALLOTS.
6 13 If the county commissioner is not convinced that
6 14 the individual who signed the return verification
6 15 envelope is the voter whose name appears on the
6 16 registration card, the county commissioner shall not
6 17 deposit the ballot in a ballot box but shall do all of
6 18 the following:
6 19 1. Give notice to the voter as follows:
6 20 a. As soon as possible after receipt of a voter's
6 21 ballot, give notice to the voter, either by telephone
6 22 or by first class mail, if the county commissioner is
6 23 unable to verify the voter's signature.
6 24 b. Inform the voter that the voter may appear in
6 25 person at the county commissioner's office before the
6 26 close of the polls on election day and verify the
6 27 signature.
6 28 2. Permit any voter appearing pursuant to
6 29 subsection 1, paragraph "b", to:
6 30 a. Verify the voter's signature, after proof of
6 31 identification, by affirming that the signature is in
6 32 fact the voter's or by completing a new registration
6 33 card containing the voter's current signature.
6 34 b. If necessary, request and receive a replacement
6 35 ballot and vote at that time.
6 36 3. If the discrepancy is not rectified to the
6 37 county commissioner's satisfaction, present the
6 38 unopened envelope and the registration card to the
6 39 special precinct election board for a determination.
6 40 If the election board is unable to resolve the issue
6 41 to its satisfaction, the ballot shall not be counted.
6 42 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.16 COUNTING BALLOTS.
6 43 Mail ballots shall be counted in the manner
6 44 prescribed by section 53.23 for absentee ballots. The
6 45 county commissioner shall supervise the procedures for
6 46 the handling, counting, and canvassing of ballots to
6 47 ensure the safety and confidentiality of all ballots.
6 48 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.17 CHALLENGES.
6 49 Votes cast pursuant to this chapter may be
6 50 challenged in the manner prescribed by section 53.31
7 1 for absentee ballots.
7 2 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.18 CANVASS OF VOTES.
7 3 The provisions of chapter 50 relating to canvass of
7 4 votes apply to this chapter only to the extent they do
7 5 not conflict with this chapter.
7 6 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.19 OTHER LAWS.
7 7 All laws which apply to elections apply to mail
7 8 ballot elections held under this chapter to the extent
7 9 applicable.
7 10 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.20 RULES.
7 11 The state commissioner of elections shall adopt
7 12 rules pursuant to chapter 17A to govern the procedures
7 13 and forms necessary to administer this chapter. The
7 14 authority of the state commissioner to adopt rules
7 15 under this chapter shall be liberally construed.
7 16 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.21 MISCONDUCT –
7 17 VIOLATIONS – PENALTIES.
7 18 1. A person who, by use of violence, threats of
7 19 violence, or any means of duress, procures or
7 20 endeavors to procure the vote of a voter for or
7 21 against any measure or candidate commits an aggravated
7 22 misdemeanor.
7 23 2. A person who violates or attempts to violate
7 24 any provision or requirement of this chapter for which
7 25 a penalty is not otherwise provided commits a simple
7 26 misdemeanor."
7 27 #3. Title page, line 2, by inserting after the
7 28 word "state" the following: ", including the
7 29 establishment of a pilot project in certain counties
7 30 allowing elections in cities with a population of two
7 31 hundred or less to be conducted by mail ballots and
7 32 providing penalties,".
7 33 #4. By renumbering as necessary.
7 34
7 35
7 36
7 37 SCHERRMAN of Dubuque
7 38 HF 2472.201 79
7 39 sc/sh
Text: H08158 Text: H08160 Text: H08100 - H08199 Text: H Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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