House File 279
HOUSE FILE
BY JOCHUM
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to membership on election boards.
2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
3 TLSB 1340HH 80
4 sc/cls/14
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 49.13, subsection 2, Code 2003, is
1 2 amended to read as follows:
1 3 2. Each election board member To the extent necessary,
1 4 election boards shall be a member include members of one of
1 5 the two political parties whose candidates for president of
1 6 the United States or for governor, as the case may be,
1 7 received the largest and next largest number of votes in the
1 8 precinct at the last general election, except that persons not
1 9 members of either of these parties may be appointed to serve
1 10 for any election in which no candidates appear on the ballot
1 11 under the heading of either of these political parties.
1 12 Election boards may also include persons not members of either
1 13 of these parties.
1 14 Sec. 2. Section 49.15, Code 2003, is amended to read as
1 15 follows:
1 16 49.15 COMMISSIONER TO DRAW UP ELECTION BOARD PANEL.
1 17 Not less than twenty days before each primary election, the
1 18 commissioner shall draw up for each precinct an election board
1 19 panel from which members of the precinct election board shall
1 20 be appointed for each election held in the precinct during the
1 21 ensuing two years. Each panel shall include members of each
1 22 of the political parties referred to in section 49.13, whose
1 23 names may be designated by the county chairpersons of each of
1 24 these political parties not less than thirty days prior to
1 25 each primary election. The commissioner may place on the
1 26 election board panel names of persons known by the
1 27 commissioner to be members of these political parties, if the
1 28 respective county chairpersons fail to designate a sufficient
1 29 number of names, and may also add names of persons, whether or
1 30 not they are members of either of these political parties, who
1 31 have advised the commissioner they are willing to serve on the
1 32 election board for elections in which no candidates appear on
1 33 the ballot under the heading of either of these political
1 34 parties, or. The commissioner may also place on the election
1 35 board panel names of persons whom either the city council of a
2 1 city of three thousand five hundred or less population or a
2 2 school board has advised the commissioner at least thirty days
2 3 before each primary election are willing to serve without pay
2 4 at elections conducted for that school district or city, as
2 5 the case may be, during the tenure of the election board panel
2 6 on which these names are included.
2 7 Sec. 3. Section 51.2, Code 2003, is amended to read as
2 8 follows:
2 9 51.2 APPOINTMENT.
2 10 The members of the election counting board shall be
2 11 appointed by the commissioner from the election board panel
2 12 drawn up as provided by section 49.15. The requirements of
2 13 section 49.13, relative to political party affiliation of
2 14 members of the election board appointed to serve for partisan
2 15 elections shall apply to the membership of the election
2 16 counting board.
2 17 EXPLANATION
2 18 This bill allows the commissioner of elections to include
2 19 on election board panels, and thus on election boards, names
2 20 of persons who are not members of the two political parties
2 21 receiving the largest and next largest number of votes for
2 22 president or governor at the last general election. Precinct
2 23 election officials are chosen from election boards.
2 24 LSB 1340HH 80
2 25 sc/cls/14