Text: S03193 Text: S03195 Text: S03100 - S03199 Text: S Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Amend Senate File 342 as follows:
1 2 #1. Page 1, by inserting before line 1 the
1 3 following:
1 4 "Section 1. NEW SECTION. 49B.1 MAIL BALLOT
1 5 ELECTIONS.
1 6 A mail ballot election may be conducted in cities
1 7 with a population of two hundred or less as provided
1 8 in this chapter.
1 9 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.2 DEFINITIONS.
1 10 As used in this chapter, unless the context
1 11 otherwise requires:
1 12 1. "Election day" is the date established by law
1 13 on which a particular election would be held if that
1 14 election were being conducted by means other than a
1 15 mail ballot election.
1 16 2. "Return verification envelope" means an
1 17 envelope that contains a secrecy envelope and which is
1 18 designed to allow election officials, upon examination
1 19 of the outside of the envelope, to determine that the
1 20 ballot is being submitted by someone who is in fact a
1 21 registered voter and who has not already voted.
1 22 3. "Secrecy envelope" means an envelope used to
1 23 contain the elector's ballot and that is designed to
1 24 conceal the voter's vote and to prevent the voter's
1 25 ballot from being distinguished from the ballots of
1 26 other voters.
1 27 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.3 MAIL BALLOT
1 28 ELECTION PROCEDURE.
1 29 The state commissioner of elections shall prescribe
1 30 uniform procedures and forms to be used in the conduct
1 31 of mail ballot elections.
1 32 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.4 INITIATION BY
1 33 GOVERNING BODY.
1 34 1. The city council of a city may, by resolution,
1 35 request that the county commissioner of elections
1 36 conduct the regular city election or a special city
1 37 election under this chapter. Only a city with two
1 38 hundred or fewer registered voters at the time the
1 39 resolution is adopted may make such a request. The
1 40 council must file the resolution with the county
1 41 commissioner not later than ninety days before the
1 42 date of the election. The commissioner shall approve
1 43 the request if the commissioner determines that it is
1 44 economically and administratively feasible to conduct
1 45 the regular city election or a special city election
1 46 by mail.
1 47 2. After the resolution is approved, the county
1 48 commissioner shall prepare a written plan for conduct
1 49 of the election as provided in section 49B.5. At
1 50 least seventy-one days before the date set for the
2 1 election, the county commissioner shall forward a copy
2 2 of the written plan to the city council concerned.
2 3 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.5 WRITTEN PLAN FOR
2 4 CONDUCT OF ELECTION – AMENDMENTS – APPROVAL
2 5 PROCEDURE.
2 6 1. The county commissioner shall prepare a written
2 7 plan, including a timetable, for the conduct of a mail
2 8 ballot election and shall submit it to the state
2 9 commissioner of elections at least seventy-one days
2 10 before the date of the election.
2 11 2. The plan may be amended by the county
2 12 commissioner any time before the sixty-fourth day
2 13 before the date of the election by notifying the state
2 14 commissioner of elections in writing of any changes.
2 15 3. Within five days after receiving the plan, and
2 16 as soon as possible after receiving any amendments,
2 17 the state commissioner of elections shall approve,
2 18 disapprove, or recommend changes to the plan or
2 19 amendments. The final plan shall be approved and
2 20 available to the public at least two days before the
2 21 deadline for candidates to file nomination papers in
2 22 the office of the city clerk.
2 23 4. When the written plan has been approved, the
2 24 county commissioner shall proceed to conduct the
2 25 election according to the approved plan.
2 26 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.6 PUBLICATION OF
2 27 NOTICE.
2 28 The county commissioner shall, not more than ten
2 29 days and not less than four days before the date that
2 30 ballots are to be mailed, publish notice that a mail
2 31 ballot election will be conducted. The notice shall
2 32 be published in a newspaper of general circulation in
2 33 each city for which the mail ballot election will be
2 34 conducted. The notice shall include all of the
2 35 following information:
2 36 1. The date ballots will be mailed.
2 37 2. The last day that a voter can request an
2 38 absentee ballot.
2 39 3. Voter registration deadlines.
2 40 4. Location or locations where mail ballots can be
2 41 deposited pursuant to section 49B.13.
2 42 5. Instructions for obtaining a replacement ballot
2 43 if a voter's ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or
2 44 not received pursuant to section 49B.9.
2 45 The county commissioner is not required to publish
2 46 a sample ballot.
2 47 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.7 MAILING BALLOTS.
2 48 1. Official ballots for a mail ballot election
2 49 shall be prepared and all other initial procedures for
2 50 elections shall be followed as otherwise provided by
3 1 law.
3 2 2. The county commissioner of elections shall mail
3 3 an official ballot to every registered voter of the
3 4 city conducting the election on a date not sooner than
3 5 the twentieth day before the date of the election and
3 6 not later than the tenth day before the date of the
3 7 election. An exception shall be made for those
3 8 ballots delivered as prescribed in section 49B.12.
3 9 3. All ballots shall be mailed by first class
3 10 mail.
3 11 4. Ballots mailed by the county commissioner shall
3 12 be addressed to the address of each voter appearing in
3 13 the registration records of the city, and placed in an
3 14 envelope which is prominently marked "Do Not Forward".
3 15 5. The ballot shall contain the following warning:
3 16 "Any person who, by use of violence, threats of
3 17 violence, or any means of duress, procures the vote of
3 18 a voter for or against any measure or candidate is
3 19 subject, upon conviction, to imprisonment or to a
3 20 fine, or both."
3 21 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.8 REGISTRATION.
3 22 The county commissioner shall not mail a ballot
3 23 under this chapter to any voter not registered thirty
3 24 days before the date of the election. Voters
3 25 registered less than thirty days before the date of
3 26 the election, but before the close of registration,
3 27 may apply for a ballot under section 49B.9.
3 28 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.9 REPLACEMENT
3 29 BALLOTS.
3 30 If the mail ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or
3 31 not received by the voter, the voter may obtain a
3 32 replacement ballot from the county commissioner as
3 33 provided in this section. A voter seeking a
3 34 replacement ballot shall sign a statement, on a form
3 35 prescribed by the state commissioner, that the ballot
3 36 was destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received. The
3 37 voter or the voter's designee shall deliver the
3 38 statement to the county commissioner before noon on
3 39 the date of the election. The voter may mail the
3 40 statement to the county commissioner. However, a
3 41 county commissioner shall not transmit a ballot by
3 42 mail under this section unless the statement is
3 43 received before five p.m. on the fourth day before the
3 44 date of the election. When a statement is timely
3 45 received under this section, the county commissioner
3 46 shall give the ballot to the voter if the voter is
3 47 present in the office of the county commissioner, or
3 48 promptly mail the ballot to the voter at the address
3 49 contained in the statement, except when prohibited by
3 50 this section. If the voter is present in the county
4 1 commissioner's office, the ballot shall be voted at
4 2 that time. The county commissioner shall keep a
4 3 record of each replacement ballot provided under this
4 4 section. If a voter, having received and voted a
4 5 replacement ballot as provided under this section,
4 6 later finds the lost ballot, the voter shall return
4 7 the lost ballot to the county commissioner.
4 8 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.10 VOTING AND RETURN
4 9 OF BALLOT.
4 10 1. A registered voter, upon receipt of a mail
4 11 ballot, shall mark the ballot in such a manner that no
4 12 other person will know how the ballot is marked and
4 13 shall place it in the secrecy envelope provided with
4 14 the ballot.
4 15 A voter who is blind, cannot read, or because of a
4 16 physical disability is unable to mark the ballot, may
4 17 be assisted by any person selected by the voter.
4 18 2. The voter shall place the secrecy envelope
4 19 containing the ballot in the return verification
4 20 envelope and sign and securely seal the return
4 21 verification envelope. The sealed return verification
4 22 envelope shall be returned to the county commissioner
4 23 by one of the following methods:
4 24 a. The sealed return verification envelope may be
4 25 delivered by the registered voter or the voter's
4 26 designee to the county commissioner's office or a
4 27 place designated by the commissioner no later than the
4 28 time the polls close on election day.
4 29 b. The sealed return verification envelope may be
4 30 mailed, postage paid, to the county commissioner. In
4 31 order for the ballot to be counted, the return
4 32 verification envelope must be clearly postmarked by an
4 33 officially authorized postal service not later than
4 34 the day before the election and received by the county
4 35 commissioner not later than the time established for
4 36 the canvass by the board of supervisors for that
4 37 election. The county commissioner shall contact the
4 38 post office serving the county commissioner's office
4 39 at the latest practical hour before the canvass by the
4 40 board of supervisors for that election, and shall
4 41 arrange for return verification envelopes received in
4 42 that post office but not yet delivered to the
4 43 commissioner's office to be brought to the
4 44 commissioner's office before the canvass for that
4 45 election by the board of supervisors.
4 46 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.11 ABSENTEE BALLOTS.
4 47 1. A registered voter who will be absent from the
4 48 city during the time when the ballots are mailed may
4 49 do either of the following:
4 50 a. Vote in person in the county commissioner's
5 1 office as soon as ballots are available and until noon
5 2 the day before the ballots are scheduled to be mailed.
5 3 b. Make a written request, signed by the voter and
5 4 addressed to the county commissioner, that the ballot
5 5 be mailed to an address other than that which appears
5 6 on the voter's registration record. Written requests
5 7 shall be accepted until noon the day before the
5 8 ballots are scheduled to be mailed.
5 9 2. Ballots mailed to voters pursuant to this
5 10 section shall be mailed the same day that all other
5 11 ballots are mailed.
5 12 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.12 BALLOTING BY
5 13 CONFINED PERSONS.
5 14 A person who is a resident or patient in a health
5 15 care facility or hospital located in the county in
5 16 which the election is to be held shall not be mailed a
5 17 ballot but shall have a ballot delivered in the manner
5 18 prescribed by section 53.22, subsection 1.
5 19 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.13 PERSONAL DELIVERY
5 20 OF MAIL BALLOT – BALLOT DROPOFF STATIONS.
5 21 A ballot dropoff station for the deposit of mail
5 22 ballots may be established in the city conducting the
5 23 mail ballot election at the direction of the county
5 24 commissioner. A ballot dropoff station established at
5 25 the direction of the commissioner shall be open from
5 26 eight a.m. until five p.m. on the day of the election.
5 27 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.14 RECEIPT OF BALLOT
5 28 – SIGNATURE VERIFICATION.
5 29 When a mail ballot is returned, the county
5 30 commissioner, or the county commissioner's designees,
5 31 shall first examine the return verification envelope
5 32 to determine whether it was submitted by a registered
5 33 voter who has not previously voted. A ballot shall be
5 34 counted only if it is returned in the return
5 35 verification envelope, the envelope is signed by the
5 36 voter to whom the ballot is issued, and the signature
5 37 has been verified as provided in this section.
5 38 The county commissioner or the county
5 39 commissioner's designees shall verify the signature of
5 40 each voter on the return verification envelope with
5 41 the signature in the voter's registration records and
5 42 may commence verification at any time before election
5 43 day. If a voter to whom a replacement ballot has been
5 44 issued under section 49B.9 returns more than one
5 45 ballot, only the replacement ballot shall be counted.
5 46 If the voter's signature is verified and the ballot
5 47 is otherwise valid, the county commissioner or the
5 48 county commissioner's designees shall deposit the
5 49 ballot unopened in an official ballot box.
5 50 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.15 PROCEDURE FOR
6 1 INVALID BALLOTS.
6 2 If the county commissioner is not convinced that
6 3 the individual who signed the return verification
6 4 envelope is the voter whose name appears on the
6 5 registration card, the county commissioner shall not
6 6 deposit the ballot in a ballot box but shall do all of
6 7 the following:
6 8 1. Give notice to the voter as follows:
6 9 a. As soon as possible after receipt of a voter's
6 10 ballot, give notice to the voter, either by telephone
6 11 or by first class mail, if the county commissioner is
6 12 unable to verify the voter's signature.
6 13 b. Inform the voter that the voter may appear in
6 14 person at the county commissioner's office before the
6 15 close of the polls on election day and verify the
6 16 signature.
6 17 2. Permit any voter appearing pursuant to
6 18 subsection 1, paragraph "b", to:
6 19 a. Verify the voter's signature, after proof of
6 20 identification, by affirming that the signature is in
6 21 fact the voter's or by completing a new registration
6 22 card containing the voter's current signature.
6 23 b. If necessary, request and receive a replacement
6 24 ballot and vote at that time.
6 25 3. If the discrepancy is not rectified to the
6 26 county commissioner's satisfaction, present the
6 27 unopened envelope and the registration card to the
6 28 special precinct election board for a determination.
6 29 If the election board is unable to resolve the issue
6 30 to its satisfaction, the ballot shall not be counted.
6 31 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.16 COUNTING BALLOTS.
6 32 Mail ballots shall be counted in the manner
6 33 prescribed by section 53.23 for absentee ballots. The
6 34 county commissioner shall supervise the procedures for
6 35 the handling, counting, and canvassing of ballots to
6 36 ensure the safety and confidentiality of all ballots.
6 37 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.17 CHALLENGES.
6 38 Votes cast pursuant to this chapter may be
6 39 challenged in the manner prescribed by section 53.31
6 40 for absentee ballots.
6 41 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.18 CANVASS OF VOTES.
6 42 The provisions of chapter 50 relating to canvass of
6 43 votes apply to this chapter only to the extent they do
6 44 not conflict with this chapter.
6 45 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.19 OTHER LAWS.
6 46 All laws which apply to elections apply to mail
6 47 ballot elections held under this chapter to the extent
6 48 applicable.
6 49 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.20 RULES.
6 50 The state commissioner of elections shall adopt
7 1 rules pursuant to chapter 17A to govern the procedures
7 2 and forms necessary to implement this chapter. The
7 3 authority of the state commissioner to adopt rules
7 4 under this chapter shall be liberally construed.
7 5 Sec. . NEW SECTION. 49B.21 MISCONDUCT –
7 6 VIOLATIONS – PENALTIES.
7 7 1. A person who, by use of violence, threats of
7 8 violence, or any means of duress, procures or
7 9 endeavors to procure the vote of a voter for or
7 10 against any measure or candidate commits an aggravated
7 11 misdemeanor.
7 12 2. A person who violates or attempts to violate
7 13 any provision or requirement of this chapter for which
7 14 a penalty is not otherwise provided commits a simple
7 15 misdemeanor.
7 16 Sec. . Section 39.3, Code 2001, is amended by
7 17 adding the following new subsection:
7 18 NEW SUBSECTION. 8A. "Mail ballot election" means
7 19 an election conducted pursuant to chapter 49B."
7 20 #2. Title page, line 1, by inserting before the
7 21 word "requiring" the following: "relating to the
7 22 conducting of elections by allowing elections in
7 23 certain cities to be conducted by mail ballots,
7 24 providing penalties, and".
7 25 #3. By renumbering as necessary.
7 26
7 27
7 28
7 29 STEVEN D. HANSEN
7 30 SF 342.301 79
7 31 sc/cf
Text: S03193 Text: S03195 Text: S03100 - S03199 Text: S Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
© 2001 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa
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