Text: HSB00016 Text: HSB00018 Text: HSB00000 - HSB00099 Text: HSB Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 49B.1 MAIL BALLOT ELECTIONS.
1 2 A mail ballot election may be conducted in cities with a
1 3 population of two hundred or less as provided in this chapter.
1 4 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 49B.2 DEFINITIONS.
1 5 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
1 6 requires:
1 7 1. "Election day" is the date established by law on which
1 8 a particular election would be held if that election were
1 9 being conducted by means other than a mail ballot election.
1 10 2. "Return verification envelope" means an envelope that
1 11 contains a secrecy envelope and which is designed to allow
1 12 election officials, upon examination of the outside of the
1 13 envelope, to determine that the ballot is being submitted by
1 14 someone who is in fact a registered voter and who has not
1 15 already voted.
1 16 3. "Secrecy envelope" means an envelope used to contain
1 17 the elector's ballot and that is designed to conceal the
1 18 voter's vote and to prevent the voter's ballot from being
1 19 distinguished from the ballots of other voters.
1 20 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 49B.3 MAIL BALLOT ELECTION
1 21 PROCEDURE.
1 22 The state commissioner of elections shall prescribe uniform
1 23 procedures and forms to be used in the conduct of mail ballot
1 24 elections.
1 25 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 49B.4 INITIATION BY GOVERNING BODY.
1 26 1. If the city council of a city with a population of two
1 27 hundred or less determines that it is economically and
1 28 administratively feasible to conduct the regular city election
1 29 or a special city election by mail, the city council, by
1 30 resolution, may require the county commissioner of elections
1 31 to conduct the election under this chapter by filing the
1 32 resolution with the county commissioner not later than ninety
1 33 days before the date of the election.
1 34 2. After the resolution is filed, the county commissioner
1 35 shall prepare a written plan for conduct of the election as
2 1 provided in section 49B.5. At least seventy-one days before
2 2 the date set for the election, the county commissioner shall
2 3 forward a copy of the written plan to the city council
2 4 concerned.
2 5 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 49B.5 WRITTEN PLAN FOR CONDUCT OF
2 6 ELECTION – AMENDMENTS – APPROVAL PROCEDURE.
2 7 1. The county commissioner shall prepare a written plan,
2 8 including a timetable, for the conduct of a mail ballot
2 9 election and shall submit it to the state commissioner of
2 10 elections at least seventy-one days before the date of the
2 11 election.
2 12 2. The plan may be amended by the county commissioner any
2 13 time before the sixty-fourth day before the date of the
2 14 election by notifying the state commissioner of elections in
2 15 writing of any changes.
2 16 3. Within five days after receiving the plan, and as soon
2 17 as possible after receiving any amendments, the state
2 18 commissioner of elections shall approve, disapprove, or
2 19 recommend changes to the plan or amendments. The final plan
2 20 shall be approved and available to the public at least two
2 21 days before the deadline for candidates to file nomination
2 22 papers in the office of the city clerk.
2 23 4. When the written plan has been approved, the county
2 24 commissioner shall proceed to conduct the election according
2 25 to the approved plan.
2 26 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 49B.6 PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.
2 27 The county commissioner shall, not more than ten days and
2 28 not less than four days before the date that ballots are to be
2 29 mailed, publish notice that a mail ballot election will be
2 30 conducted. The notice shall be published in a newspaper of
2 31 general circulation in each city for which the mail ballot
2 32 election will be conducted. The notice shall include all of
2 33 the following information:
2 34 1. The date ballots will be mailed.
2 35 2. The last day that a voter can request an absentee
3 1 ballot.
3 2 3. Voter registration deadlines.
3 3 4. Location or locations where mail ballots can be
3 4 deposited pursuant to section 49B.13.
3 5 5. Instructions for obtaining a replacement ballot if a
3 6 voter's ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received
3 7 pursuant to section 49B.9.
3 8 The county commissioner is not required to publish a sample
3 9 ballot.
3 10 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION. 49B.7 MAILING BALLOTS.
3 11 1. Official ballots for a mail ballot election shall be
3 12 prepared and all other initial procedures for elections shall
3 13 be followed as otherwise provided by law.
3 14 2. The county commissioner of elections shall mail an
3 15 official ballot to every registered voter of the city
3 16 conducting the election on a date not sooner than the
3 17 twentieth day before the date of the election and not later
3 18 than the tenth day before the date of the election. An
3 19 exception shall be made for those ballots delivered as
3 20 prescribed in section 49B.12.
3 21 3. All ballots shall be mailed by first class mail.
3 22 4. Ballots mailed by the county commissioner shall be
3 23 addressed to the address of each voter appearing in the
3 24 registration records of the city, and placed in an envelope
3 25 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 violence,
3 28 or any means of duress, procures the vote of a voter for or
3 29 against any measure or candidate is subject, upon conviction,
3 30 to imprisonment or to a fine, or both."
3 31 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION. 49B.8 REGISTRATION.
3 32 The county commissioner shall not mail a ballot under this
3 33 chapter to any voter not registered thirty days before the
3 34 date of the election. Voters registered less than thirty days
3 35 before the date of the election, but before the close of
4 1 registration, may apply for a ballot under section 49B.9.
4 2 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION. 49B.9 REPLACEMENT BALLOTS.
4 3 If the mail ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not
4 4 received by the voter, the voter may obtain a replacement
4 5 ballot from the county commissioner as provided in this
4 6 section. A voter seeking a replacement ballot shall sign a
4 7 statement, on a form prescribed by the state commissioner,
4 8 that the ballot was destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received.
4 9 The voter or the voter's designee shall deliver the statement
4 10 to the county commissioner before noon on the date of the
4 11 election. The voter may mail the statement to the county
4 12 commissioner. However, a county commissioner shall not
4 13 transmit a ballot by mail under this section unless the
4 14 statement is received before five p.m. on the fourth day
4 15 before the date of the election. When a statement is timely
4 16 received under this section, the county commissioner shall
4 17 give the ballot to the voter if the voter is present in the
4 18 office of the county commissioner, or promptly mail the ballot
4 19 to the voter at the address contained in the statement, except
4 20 when prohibited by this section. If the voter is present in
4 21 the county commissioner's office, the ballot shall be voted at
4 22 that time. The county commissioner shall keep a record of
4 23 each replacement ballot provided under this section. If a
4 24 voter, having received and voted a replacement ballot as
4 25 provided under this section, later finds the lost ballot, the
4 26 voter shall return the lost ballot to the county commissioner.
4 27 Sec. 10. NEW SECTION. 49B.10 VOTING AND RETURN OF
4 28 BALLOT.
4 29 1. A registered voter, upon receipt of a mail ballot,
4 30 shall mark the ballot in such a manner that no other person
4 31 will know how the ballot is marked and shall place it in the
4 32 secrecy envelope provided with the ballot.
4 33 A voter who is blind, cannot read, or because of a physical
4 34 disability is unable to mark the ballot, may be assisted by
4 35 any person selected by the voter.
5 1 2. The voter shall place the secrecy envelope containing
5 2 the ballot in the return verification envelope and sign and
5 3 securely seal the return verification envelope. The sealed
5 4 return verification envelope shall be returned to the county
5 5 commissioner by one of the following methods:
5 6 a. The sealed return verification envelope may be
5 7 delivered by the registered voter or the voter's designee to
5 8 the county commissioner's office or a place designated by the
5 9 commissioner no later than the time the polls close on
5 10 election day.
5 11 b. The sealed return verification envelope may be mailed,
5 12 postage paid, to the county commissioner. In order for the
5 13 ballot to be counted, the return verification envelope must be
5 14 clearly postmarked by an officially authorized postal service
5 15 not later than the day before the election and received by the
5 16 county commissioner not later than the time established for
5 17 the canvass by the board of supervisors for that election.
5 18 The county commissioner shall contact the post office serving
5 19 the county commissioner's office at the latest practical hour
5 20 before the canvass by the board of supervisors for that
5 21 election, and shall arrange for return verification envelopes
5 22 received in that post office but not yet delivered to the
5 23 commissioner's office to be brought to the commissioner's
5 24 office before the canvass for that election by the board of
5 25 supervisors.
5 26 Sec. 11. NEW SECTION. 49B.11 ABSENTEE BALLOTS.
5 27 1. A registered voter who will be absent from the city
5 28 during the time when the ballots are mailed may do either of
5 29 the following:
5 30 a. Vote in person in the county commissioner's office as
5 31 soon as ballots are available and until noon the day before
5 32 the ballots are scheduled to be mailed.
5 33 b. Make a written request, signed by the voter and
5 34 addressed to the county commissioner, that the ballot be
5 35 mailed to an address other than that which appears on the
6 1 voter's registration record. Written requests shall be
6 2 accepted until noon the day before the ballots are scheduled
6 3 to be mailed.
6 4 2. Ballots mailed to voters pursuant to this section shall
6 5 be mailed the same day that all other ballots are mailed.
6 6 Sec. 12. NEW SECTION. 49B.12 BALLOTING BY CONFINED
6 7 PERSONS.
6 8 A person who is a resident or patient in a health care
6 9 facility or hospital located in the county in which the
6 10 election is to be held shall not be mailed a ballot but shall
6 11 have a ballot delivered in the manner prescribed by section
6 12 53.22, subsection 1.
6 13 Sec. 13. NEW SECTION. 49B.13 PERSONAL DELIVERY OF MAIL
6 14 BALLOT – BALLOT DROPOFF STATIONS.
6 15 A ballot dropoff station for the deposit of mail ballots
6 16 may be established in the city conducting the mail ballot
6 17 election at the direction of the county commissioner. A
6 18 ballot dropoff station established at the direction of the
6 19 commissioner shall be open from eight a.m. until five p.m. on
6 20 the day of the election.
6 21 Sec. 14. NEW SECTION. 49B.14 RECEIPT OF BALLOT –
6 22 SIGNATURE VERIFICATION.
6 23 When a mail ballot is returned, the county commissioner, or
6 24 the county commissioner's designees, shall first examine the
6 25 return verification envelope to determine whether it was
6 26 submitted by a registered voter who has not previously voted.
6 27 A ballot shall be counted only if it is returned in the return
6 28 verification envelope, the envelope is signed by the voter to
6 29 whom the ballot is issued, and the signature has been verified
6 30 as provided in this section.
6 31 The county commissioner or the county commissioner's
6 32 designees shall verify the signature of each voter on the
6 33 return verification envelope with the signature in the voter's
6 34 registration records and may commence verification at any time
6 35 before election day. If a voter to whom a replacement ballot
7 1 has been issued under section 49B.9 returns more than one
7 2 ballot, only the replacement ballot shall be counted.
7 3 If the voter's signature is verified and the ballot is
7 4 otherwise valid, the county commissioner or the county
7 5 commissioner's designees shall deposit the ballot unopened in
7 6 an official ballot box.
7 7 Sec. 15. NEW SECTION. 49B.15 PROCEDURE FOR INVALID
7 8 BALLOTS.
7 9 If the county commissioner is not convinced that the
7 10 individual who signed the return verification envelope is the
7 11 voter whose name appears on the registration card, the county
7 12 commissioner shall not deposit the ballot in a ballot box but
7 13 shall do all of the following:
7 14 1. Give notice to the voter as follows:
7 15 a. As soon as possible after receipt of a voter's ballot,
7 16 give notice to the voter, either by telephone or by first
7 17 class mail, if the county commissioner is unable to verify the
7 18 voter's signature.
7 19 b. Inform the voter that the voter may appear in person at
7 20 the county commissioner's office before the close of the polls
7 21 on election day and verify the signature.
7 22 2. Permit any voter appearing pursuant to subsection 1,
7 23 paragraph "b", to:
7 24 a. Verify the voter's signature, after proof of
7 25 identification, by affirming that the signature is in fact the
7 26 voter's or by completing a new registration card containing
7 27 the voter's current signature.
7 28 b. If necessary, request and receive a replacement ballot
7 29 and vote at that time.
7 30 3. If the discrepancy is not rectified to the county
7 31 commissioner's satisfaction, present the unopened envelope and
7 32 the registration card to the special precinct election board
7 33 for a determination. If the election board is unable to
7 34 resolve the issue to its satisfaction, the ballot shall not be
7 35 counted.
8 1 Sec. 16. NEW SECTION. 49B.16 COUNTING BALLOTS.
8 2 Mail ballots shall be counted in the manner prescribed by
8 3 section 53.23 for absentee ballots. The county commissioner
8 4 shall supervise the procedures for the handling, counting, and
8 5 canvassing of ballots to ensure the safety and confidentiality
8 6 of all ballots.
8 7 Sec. 17. NEW SECTION. 49B.17 CHALLENGES.
8 8 Votes cast pursuant to this chapter may be challenged in
8 9 the manner prescribed by section 53.31 for absentee ballots.
8 10 Sec. 18. NEW SECTION. 49B.18 CANVASS OF VOTES.
8 11 The provisions of chapter 50 relating to canvass of votes
8 12 apply to this chapter only to the extent they do not conflict
8 13 with this chapter.
8 14 Sec. 19. NEW SECTION. 49B.19 OTHER LAWS.
8 15 All laws which apply to elections apply to mail ballot
8 16 elections held under this chapter to the extent applicable.
8 17 Sec. 20. NEW SECTION. 49B.20 RULES.
8 18 The state commissioner of elections shall adopt rules
8 19 pursuant to chapter 17A to govern the procedures and forms
8 20 necessary to implement this chapter. The authority of the
8 21 state commissioner to adopt rules under this chapter shall be
8 22 liberally construed.
8 23 Sec. 21. NEW SECTION. 49B.21 MISCONDUCT – VIOLATIONS –
8 24 PENALTIES.
8 25 1. A person who, by use of violence, threats of violence,
8 26 or any means of duress, procures or endeavors to procure the
8 27 vote of a voter for or against any measure or candidate
8 28 commits an aggravated misdemeanor.
8 29 2. A person who violates or attempts to violate any
8 30 provision or requirement of this chapter for which a penalty
8 31 is not otherwise provided commits a simple misdemeanor.
8 32 Sec. 22. Section 39.3, Code 2001, is amended by adding the
8 33 following new subsection:
8 34 NEW SUBSECTION. 8A. "Mail ballot election" means an
8 35 election conducted pursuant to chapter 49B.
9 1 EXPLANATION
9 2 This bill creates a new Code chapter 49B and establishes a
9 3 procedure for elections in cities with a population of 200 or
9 4 less to be conducted by mailed ballots. To qualify for this
9 5 method of election, the city council must adopt a resolution
9 6 not later than 90 days before the date of the election
9 7 directing the county commissioner of elections to conduct the
9 8 regular city election or special city election as a mail
9 9 ballot election. The election must be conducted pursuant to a
9 10 plan proposed by the county commissioner of elections (county
9 11 auditor) and approved by the state commissioner of elections
9 12 (secretary of state).
9 13 The bill requires the county commissioner to mail the
9 14 ballots to registered voters in the city no more than 20 days
9 15 and no less than 10 days before the date of the election. To
9 16 receive a mailed ballot, an elector must be registered to vote
9 17 30 or more days before the date of the election. A completed
9 18 ballot must be personally delivered to the commissioner's
9 19 office or a designated place no later than the time the polls
9 20 close on election day or must be postmarked no later than the
9 21 day before the election and received by the commissioner not
9 22 later than the date set for canvassing the ballots.
9 23 LSB 1060DP 79
9 24 sc/cf/24
Text: HSB00016 Text: HSB00018 Text: HSB00000 - HSB00099 Text: HSB Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
© 2001 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa
Comments about this site or page?
webmaster@legis.iowa.gov.
Please remember that the person listed above does not vote on bills. Direct all comments concerning legislation to State Legislators.
Last update: Thu Jan 25 03:35:08 CST 2001
URL: /DOCS/GA/79GA/Legislation/HSB/00000/HSB00017/010123.html
jhf