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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. The city council of a city may, by resolution, request
1 27 that the county commissioner of elections conduct the regular
1 28 city election or a special city election under this chapter.
1 29 Only a city with two hundred or fewer registered voters at the
1 30 time the resolution is adopted may make such a request. The
1 31 council must file the resolution with the county commissioner
1 32 not later than ninety days before the date of the election.
1 33 The commissioner shall approve the request if the commissioner
1 34 determines that it is economically and administratively
1 35 feasible to conduct the regular city election or a special
2 1 city election by mail.
2 2 2. After the resolution is approved, the county
2 3 commissioner shall prepare a written plan for conduct of the
2 4 election as provided in section 49B.5. At least seventy-one
2 5 days before the date set for the election, the county
2 6 commissioner shall forward a copy of the written plan to the
2 7 city council concerned.
2 8 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 49B.5 WRITTEN PLAN FOR CONDUCT OF
2 9 ELECTION – AMENDMENTS – APPROVAL PROCEDURE.
2 10 1. The county commissioner shall prepare a written plan,
2 11 including a timetable, for the conduct of a mail ballot
2 12 election and shall submit it to the state commissioner of
2 13 elections at least seventy-one days before the date of the
2 14 election.
2 15 2. The plan may be amended by the county commissioner any
2 16 time before the sixty-fourth day before the date of the
2 17 election by notifying the state commissioner of elections in
2 18 writing of any changes.
2 19 3. Within five days after receiving the plan, and as soon
2 20 as possible after receiving any amendments, the state
2 21 commissioner of elections shall approve, disapprove, or
2 22 recommend changes to the plan or amendments. The final plan
2 23 shall be approved and available to the public at least two
2 24 days before the deadline for candidates to file nomination
2 25 papers in the office of the city clerk.
2 26 4. When the written plan has been approved, the county
2 27 commissioner shall proceed to conduct the election according
2 28 to the approved plan.
2 29 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 49B.6 PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.
2 30 The county commissioner shall, not more than ten days and
2 31 not less than four days before the date that ballots are to be
2 32 mailed, publish notice that a mail ballot election will be
2 33 conducted. The notice shall be published in a newspaper of
2 34 general circulation in each city for which the mail ballot
2 35 election will be conducted. The notice shall include all of
3 1 the following information:
3 2 1. The date ballots will be mailed.
3 3 2. The last day that a voter can request an absentee
3 4 ballot.
3 5 3. Voter registration deadlines.
3 6 4. Location or locations where mail ballots can be
3 7 deposited pursuant to section 49B.13.
3 8 5. Instructions for obtaining a replacement ballot if a
3 9 voter's ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received
3 10 pursuant to section 49B.9.
3 11 The county commissioner is not required to publish a sample
3 12 ballot.
3 13 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION. 49B.7 MAILING BALLOTS.
3 14 1. Official ballots for a mail ballot election shall be
3 15 prepared and all other initial procedures for elections shall
3 16 be followed as otherwise provided by law.
3 17 2. The county commissioner of elections shall mail an
3 18 official ballot to every registered voter of the city
3 19 conducting the election on a date not sooner than the
3 20 twentieth day before the date of the election and not later
3 21 than the tenth day before the date of the election. An
3 22 exception shall be made for those ballots delivered as
3 23 prescribed in section 49B.12.
3 24 3. All ballots shall be mailed by first class mail.
3 25 4. Ballots mailed by the county commissioner shall be
3 26 addressed to the address of each voter appearing in the
3 27 registration records of the city, and placed in an envelope
3 28 which is prominently marked "Do Not Forward".
3 29 5. The ballot shall contain the following warning:
3 30 "Any person who, by use of violence, threats of violence,
3 31 or any means of duress, procures the vote of a voter for or
3 32 against any measure or candidate is subject, upon conviction,
3 33 to imprisonment or to a fine, or both."
3 34 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION. 49B.8 REGISTRATION.
3 35 The county commissioner shall not mail a ballot under this
4 1 chapter to any voter not registered thirty days before the
4 2 date of the election. Voters registered less than thirty days
4 3 before the date of the election, but before the close of
4 4 registration, may apply for a ballot under section 49B.9.
4 5 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION. 49B.9 REPLACEMENT BALLOTS.
4 6 If the mail ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not
4 7 received by the voter, the voter may obtain a replacement
4 8 ballot from the county commissioner as provided in this
4 9 section. A voter seeking a replacement ballot shall sign a
4 10 statement, on a form prescribed by the state commissioner,
4 11 that the ballot was destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received.
4 12 The voter or the voter's designee shall deliver the statement
4 13 to the county commissioner before noon on the date of the
4 14 election. The voter may mail the statement to the county
4 15 commissioner. However, a county commissioner shall not
4 16 transmit a ballot by mail under this section unless the
4 17 statement is received before five p.m. on the fourth day
4 18 before the date of the election. When a statement is timely
4 19 received under this section, the county commissioner shall
4 20 give the ballot to the voter if the voter is present in the
4 21 office of the county commissioner, or promptly mail the ballot
4 22 to the voter at the address contained in the statement, except
4 23 when prohibited by this section. If the voter is present in
4 24 the county commissioner's office, the ballot shall be voted at
4 25 that time. The county commissioner shall keep a record of
4 26 each replacement ballot provided under this section. If a
4 27 voter, having received and voted a replacement ballot as
4 28 provided under this section, later finds the lost ballot, the
4 29 voter shall return the lost ballot to the county commissioner.
4 30 Sec. 10. NEW SECTION. 49B.10 VOTING AND RETURN OF
4 31 BALLOT.
4 32 1. A registered voter, upon receipt of a mail ballot,
4 33 shall mark the ballot in such a manner that no other person
4 34 will know how the ballot is marked and shall place it in the
4 35 secrecy envelope provided with the ballot.
5 1 A voter who is blind, cannot read, or because of a physical
5 2 disability is unable to mark the ballot, may be assisted by
5 3 any person selected by the voter.
5 4 2. The voter shall place the secrecy envelope containing
5 5 the ballot in the return verification envelope and sign and
5 6 securely seal the return verification envelope. The sealed
5 7 return verification envelope shall be returned to the county
5 8 commissioner by one of the following methods:
5 9 a. The sealed return verification envelope may be
5 10 delivered by the registered voter or the voter's designee to
5 11 the county commissioner's office or a place designated by the
5 12 commissioner no later than the time the polls close on
5 13 election day.
5 14 b. The sealed return verification envelope may be mailed,
5 15 postage paid, to the county commissioner. In order for the
5 16 ballot to be counted, the return verification envelope must be
5 17 clearly postmarked by an officially authorized postal service
5 18 not later than the day before the election and received by the
5 19 county commissioner not later than the time established for
5 20 the canvass by the board of supervisors for that election.
5 21 The county commissioner shall contact the post office serving
5 22 the county commissioner's office at the latest practical hour
5 23 before the canvass by the board of supervisors for that
5 24 election, and shall arrange for return verification envelopes
5 25 received in that post office but not yet delivered to the
5 26 commissioner's office to be brought to the commissioner's
5 27 office before the canvass for that election by the board of
5 28 supervisors.
5 29 Sec. 11. NEW SECTION. 49B.11 ABSENTEE BALLOTS.
5 30 1. A registered voter who will be absent from the city
5 31 during the time when the ballots are mailed may do either of
5 32 the following:
5 33 a. Vote in person in the county commissioner's office as
5 34 soon as ballots are available and until noon the day before
5 35 the ballots are scheduled to be mailed.
6 1 b. Make a written request, signed by the voter and
6 2 addressed to the county commissioner, that the ballot be
6 3 mailed to an address other than that which appears on the
6 4 voter's registration record. Written requests shall be
6 5 accepted until noon the day before the ballots are scheduled
6 6 to be mailed.
6 7 2. Ballots mailed to voters pursuant to this section shall
6 8 be mailed the same day that all other ballots are mailed.
6 9 Sec. 12. NEW SECTION. 49B.12 BALLOTING BY CONFINED
6 10 PERSONS.
6 11 A person who is a resident or patient in a health care
6 12 facility or hospital located in the county in which the
6 13 election is to be held shall not be mailed a ballot but shall
6 14 have a ballot delivered in the manner prescribed by section
6 15 53.22, subsection 1.
6 16 Sec. 13. NEW SECTION. 49B.13 PERSONAL DELIVERY OF MAIL
6 17 BALLOT – BALLOT DROPOFF STATIONS.
6 18 A ballot dropoff station for the deposit of mail ballots
6 19 may be established in the city conducting the mail ballot
6 20 election at the direction of the county commissioner. A
6 21 ballot dropoff station established at the direction of the
6 22 commissioner shall be open from eight a.m. until five p.m. on
6 23 the day of the election.
6 24 Sec. 14. NEW SECTION. 49B.14 RECEIPT OF BALLOT –
6 25 SIGNATURE VERIFICATION.
6 26 When a mail ballot is returned, the county commissioner, or
6 27 the county commissioner's designees, shall first examine the
6 28 return verification envelope to determine whether it was
6 29 submitted by a registered voter who has not previously voted.
6 30 A ballot shall be counted only if it is returned in the return
6 31 verification envelope, the envelope is signed by the voter to
6 32 whom the ballot is issued, and the signature has been verified
6 33 as provided in this section.
6 34 The county commissioner or the county commissioner's
6 35 designees shall verify the signature of each voter on the
7 1 return verification envelope with the signature in the voter's
7 2 registration records and may commence verification at any time
7 3 before election day. If a voter to whom a replacement ballot
7 4 has been issued under section 49B.9 returns more than one
7 5 ballot, only the replacement ballot shall be counted.
7 6 If the voter's signature is verified and the ballot is
7 7 otherwise valid, the county commissioner or the county
7 8 commissioner's designees shall deposit the ballot unopened in
7 9 an official ballot box.
7 10 Sec. 15. NEW SECTION. 49B.15 PROCEDURE FOR INVALID
7 11 BALLOTS.
7 12 If the county commissioner is not convinced that the
7 13 individual who signed the return verification envelope is the
7 14 voter whose name appears on the registration card, the county
7 15 commissioner shall not deposit the ballot in a ballot box but
7 16 shall do all of the following:
7 17 1. Give notice to the voter as follows:
7 18 a. As soon as possible after receipt of a voter's ballot,
7 19 give notice to the voter, either by telephone or by first
7 20 class mail, if the county commissioner is unable to verify the
7 21 voter's signature.
7 22 b. Inform the voter that the voter may appear in person at
7 23 the county commissioner's office before the close of the polls
7 24 on election day and verify the signature.
7 25 2. Permit any voter appearing pursuant to subsection 1,
7 26 paragraph "b", to:
7 27 a. Verify the voter's signature, after proof of
7 28 identification, by affirming that the signature is in fact the
7 29 voter's or by completing a new registration card containing
7 30 the voter's current signature.
7 31 b. If necessary, request and receive a replacement ballot
7 32 and vote at that time.
7 33 3. If the discrepancy is not rectified to the county
7 34 commissioner's satisfaction, present the unopened envelope and
7 35 the registration card to the special precinct election board
8 1 for a determination. If the election board is unable to
8 2 resolve the issue to its satisfaction, the ballot shall not be
8 3 counted.
8 4 Sec. 16. NEW SECTION. 49B.16 COUNTING BALLOTS.
8 5 Mail ballots shall be counted in the manner prescribed by
8 6 section 53.23 for absentee ballots. The county commissioner
8 7 shall supervise the procedures for the handling, counting, and
8 8 canvassing of ballots to ensure the safety and confidentiality
8 9 of all ballots.
8 10 Sec. 17. NEW SECTION. 49B.17 CHALLENGES.
8 11 Votes cast pursuant to this chapter may be challenged in
8 12 the manner prescribed by section 53.31 for absentee ballots.
8 13 Sec. 18. NEW SECTION. 49B.18 CANVASS OF VOTES.
8 14 The provisions of chapter 50 relating to canvass of votes
8 15 apply to this chapter only to the extent they do not conflict
8 16 with this chapter.
8 17 Sec. 19. NEW SECTION. 49B.19 OTHER LAWS.
8 18 All laws which apply to elections apply to mail ballot
8 19 elections held under this chapter to the extent applicable.
8 20 Sec. 20. NEW SECTION. 49B.20 RULES.
8 21 The state commissioner of elections shall adopt rules
8 22 pursuant to chapter 17A to govern the procedures and forms
8 23 necessary to implement this chapter. The authority of the
8 24 state commissioner to adopt rules under this chapter shall be
8 25 liberally construed.
8 26 Sec. 21. NEW SECTION. 49B.21 MISCONDUCT – VIOLATIONS –
8 27 PENALTIES.
8 28 1. A person who, by use of violence, threats of violence,
8 29 or any means of duress, procures or endeavors to procure the
8 30 vote of a voter for or against any measure or candidate
8 31 commits an aggravated misdemeanor.
8 32 2. A person who violates or attempts to violate any
8 33 provision or requirement of this chapter for which a penalty
8 34 is not otherwise provided commits a simple misdemeanor.
8 35 Sec. 22. Section 39.3, Code 2001, is amended by adding the
9 1 following new subsection:
9 2 NEW SUBSECTION. 8A. "Mail ballot election" means an
9 3 election conducted pursuant to chapter 49B.
9 4 EXPLANATION
9 5 This bill creates a new Code chapter 49B and establishes a
9 6 procedure for elections in cities with 200 or fewer registered
9 7 voters to be conducted by mailed ballots. To qualify for this
9 8 method of election, the city council must adopt a resolution
9 9 not later than 90 days before the date of the election
9 10 requesting that the county commissioner of elections conduct
9 11 the regular city election or special city election as a mail
9 12 ballot election. The election must be conducted pursuant to a
9 13 plan proposed by the county commissioner of elections (county
9 14 auditor) and approved by the state commissioner of elections
9 15 (secretary of state).
9 16 The bill requires the county commissioner to mail the
9 17 ballots to registered voters in the city no more than 20 days
9 18 and no less than 10 days before the date of the election. To
9 19 receive a mailed ballot, an elector must be registered to vote
9 20 30 or more days before the date of the election. A completed
9 21 ballot must be personally delivered to the commissioner's
9 22 office or a designated place no later than the time the polls
9 23 close on election day or must be postmarked no later than the
9 24 day before the election and received by the commissioner not
9 25 later than the date set for canvassing the ballots.
9 26 LSB 1875XS 79
9 27 sc/cf/24
Text: SF00119 Text: SF00121 Text: SF00100 - SF00199 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
© 2001 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa
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