House Study Bill 153
HOUSE FILE
BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON
STATE GOVERNMENT BILL
BY CHAIRPERSON JOCHUM)
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to voter registration and voting systems
2 performance standards.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
4 TLSB 1860YC 82
5 sc/gg/14
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 48A.8, subsection 2, unnumbered
1 2 paragraph 1, Code 2007, is amended to read as follows:
1 3 An eligible elector who registers by mail and who has not
1 4 previously voted in an election for federal office in the
1 5 county of registration this state shall be required to provide
1 6 identification documents when voting for the first time in the
1 7 county of registration, unless the registrant provided on the
1 8 registration form the registrant's Iowa driver's license
1 9 number, or the registrant's Iowa nonoperator's identification
1 10 card number, or the last four numerals of the registrant's
1 11 social security number and the driver's license, nonoperator's
1 12 identification, or partial social security number matches an
1 13 existing state or federal identification record with the same
1 14 number, name, and date of birth. If the registrant under this
1 15 subsection votes in person at the polls, or by absentee ballot
1 16 at the commissioner's office or at a satellite voting station,
1 17 the registrant shall provide a current and valid photo
1 18 identification card, or shall present to the appropriate
1 19 election official one of the following current documents that
1 20 shows the name and address of the registrant:
1 21 Sec. 2. Section 48A.11, subsection 8, Code 2007, is
1 22 amended to read as follows:
1 23 8. A voter registration application lacking the
1 24 registrant's name, sex, date of birth, or residence address or
1 25 description shall not be processed as an incomplete
1 26 registration, and the registrant shall be notified pursuant to
1 27 section 48A.26, subsection 3. A If a voter registration
1 28 application lacking received by mail lacks the registrant's
1 29 Iowa driver's license number, Iowa nonoperator's
1 30 identification card number, or the last four digits of the
1 31 registrant's social security number, it shall not be processed
1 32 as a pending registration. A registrant whose registration is
1 33 not processed pursuant to this subsection shall be notified
1 34 pursuant to section 48A.26, subsection 3. A registrant An
1 35 eligible elector who registers in person and who does not have
2 1 an Iowa driver's license number, an Iowa nonoperator's
2 2 identification number, or a social security number, and who
2 3 notifies the registrar of such, shall be assigned a unique
2 4 identifying number that shall serve to identify the registrant
2 5 for voter registration purposes. The commissioner shall enter
2 6 the registration into the voter registration records as an
2 7 active registration.
2 8 Sec. 3. Section 48A.12, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2007,
2 9 is amended to read as follows:
2 10 The mail voter registration form prescribed by the federal
2 11 election assistance commission shall be accepted for voter
2 12 registration in Iowa if all required information is provided,
2 13 if it is signed by the registrant, and if the form is timely
2 14 received.
2 15 Sec. 4. Section 48A.25A, unnumbered paragraphs 1 and 2,
2 16 Code 2007, are amended to read as follows:
2 17 Upon receipt of an application for voter registration by
2 18 mail, the state registrar of voters commissioner shall compare
2 19 the Iowa driver's license number, the Iowa nonoperator's
2 20 identification card number, or the last four numerals of the
2 21 social security number provided by the registrant with the
2 22 records of the state department of transportation or the
2 23 social security administration. To be verified, the voter
2 24 registration record shall contain the same name, date of
2 25 birth, and Iowa driver's license number, or Iowa nonoperator's
2 26 identification card number, or whole or partial social
2 27 security number as the records of the state department of
2 28 transportation or the social security administration. If the
2 29 information cannot be verified, the application shall be
2 30 rejected and the registrant shall be notified of the reason
2 31 for the rejection. If the information can be verified, a
2 32 record shall be made of the verification and the application
2 33 shall be accepted.
2 34 The voter registration commission shall adopt rules in
2 35 accordance with chapter 17A to provide procedures for
3 1 processing registration applications if the state department
3 2 of transportation or the social security administration does
3 3 not, before the close of registration for an election for
3 4 which the voter registration would be effective, if verified,
3 5 provide a report that the information on the application has
3 6 matched or not matched the records of the department or
3 7 administration.
3 8 Sec. 5. Section 48A.26, subsection 4, Code 2007, is
3 9 amended to read as follows:
3 10 4. If the registrant applied by mail to register to vote
3 11 and did not answer either "yes" or "no" to the question in
3 12 section 48A.11, subsection 3, paragraph "a", the application
3 13 shall be processed, but the registration shall be designated
3 14 as valid only for elections that do not include candidates for
3 15 federal offices on the ballot. The acknowledgment shall
3 16 advise the applicant that the status of the registration is
3 17 local and the reason for the registration being assigned local
3 18 status. The commissioner shall send written notice to the
3 19 applicant informing the applicant that the applicant did not
3 20 mark either "yes" or "no" in response to the question about
3 21 the applicant's citizenship. The notice shall advise the
3 22 applicant that the applicant may complete the registration by
3 23 submitting a new registration form before the date of the next
3 24 general election. The commissioner shall enclose with the
3 25 written notice a new registration by mail form for the
3 26 applicant to use. If the original application is received
3 27 during the twelve days before the close of registration for an
3 28 election that includes candidates for federal offices on the
3 29 ballot, the commissioner shall provide the registrant with an
3 30 opportunity to complete the form before the close of
3 31 registration. The commissioner shall enter the registration
3 32 into the voter registration records as an active registration.
3 33 Sec. 6. Section 48A.37, subsection 2, Code 2007, is
3 34 amended to read as follows:
3 35 2. Electronic records shall include a status code
4 1 designating whether the records are active, inactive, local,
4 2 or pending, incomplete, or cancelled. Inactive records are
4 3 records of registered voters to whom notices have been sent
4 4 pursuant to section 48A.28, subsection 3, and who have not
4 5 returned the card or otherwise responded to the notice, and
4 6 those records have been designated inactive pursuant to
4 7 section 48A.29. Local records are records of applicants who
4 8 did not answer either "yes" or "no" to the question in section
4 9 48A.11, subsection 3, paragraph "a". Pending records are
4 10 records of applicants whose applications have not been
4 11 verified pursuant to section 48A.25A who registered by mail
4 12 and who did not provide on the application the registrant's
4 13 Iowa driver's license number, nonoperator's identification
4 14 card number, or the last four numerals of the registrant's
4 15 social security number. Incomplete records are records that
4 16 could not be verified pursuant to section 48A.25A or that are
4 17 missing required information. Cancelled records are records
4 18 that have been cancelled pursuant to section 48A.30. All
4 19 other records are active records. An inactive record shall be
4 20 made active when the registered voter votes at an election,
4 21 registers again, or reports a change of name, address,
4 22 telephone number, or political party affiliation. A pending
4 23 record shall be made active upon verification when the voter
4 24 presents identification at the polls and votes. A local
4 25 record shall be valid for any election for which no candidates
4 26 for federal office appear on the ballot. A registrant with
4 27 only a local record shall not vote in a federal election
4 28 unless the registrant submits a new voter registration
4 29 application before election day indicating that the applicant
4 30 is a citizen of the United States.
4 31 Sec. 7. Section 52.5, unnumbered paragraph 2, Code 2007,
4 32 is amended to read as follows:
4 33 The state commissioner shall formulate, with the advice and
4 34 assistance of the examiners, and adopt rules governing the
4 35 testing and examination of any voting machine or electronic
5 1 voting system by the board of examiners. The rules shall
5 2 prescribe the method to be used in determining whether the
5 3 machine or system is suitable for use within the state and
5 4 performance standards for voting equipment in use within the
5 5 state. The rules shall provide that all electronic voting
5 6 systems and voting machines approved for use by the examiners
5 7 after April 9, 2003, shall meet voting systems performance and
5 8 test standards, as adopted by the federal election commission
5 9 on April 30, 2002, and as deemed adopted by Pub. L. No.
5 10 107=252, section 222, or the voluntary voting system
5 11 guidelines as adopted by the federal election assistance
5 12 commission on December 13, 2005. The rules shall include
5 13 standards for determining when recertification is necessary
5 14 following modifications to the equipment or to the programs
5 15 used in tabulating votes, and a procedure for rescinding
5 16 certification if a system or machine is found not to comply
5 17 with performance standards adopted by the state commissioner.
5 18 EXPLANATION
5 19 This bill makes changes relating to voter registration and
5 20 voting systems.
5 21 Current law provides that an eligible elector who registers
5 22 by mail and who has not voted in an election for federal
5 23 office in the county of registration must produce
5 24 identification at the polls unless certain identification
5 25 numbers are provided on the registration application and the
5 26 number provided has been verified. The bill changes "county
5 27 of registration" to "state". This change incorporates
5 28 requirements of the Help America Vote Act which requires
5 29 first=time voters within a state to show identification. The
5 30 provision that required a first=time voter within a county to
5 31 show identification does not apply in states that have
5 32 statewide voter registration systems.
5 33 Code section 48A.11 is amended to provide that a voter
5 34 registration application received by mail that does not have
5 35 one of the required identification numbers shall be processed
6 1 as a pending registration. Current law provides that such an
6 2 application shall not be processed. A conforming amendment
6 3 redefining pending registration records is made in Code
6 4 section 48A.37. Section 48A.11 is also amended to specify
6 5 that a registrant who applies in person at the commissioner's
6 6 office and who does not have one of the required
6 7 identification numbers shall be assigned a unique
6 8 identification number by the commissioner.
6 9 Code section 48A.12, relating to federal mail voter
6 10 registration forms, is amended to refer to the election
6 11 assistance commission created by the Help America Vote Act,
6 12 rather than to the federal election commission.
6 13 Code section 48A.25A is amended to provide that the county
6 14 commissioner of registration, rather than the state registrar
6 15 of voters, shall verify identification numbers included on
6 16 voter registration applications. The Code section is also
6 17 amended to allow the commissioner to verify social security
6 18 numbers with the social security administration in addition to
6 19 the state department of transportation.
6 20 Code section 48A.26 is amended to provide that a registrant
6 21 who did not answer the question on the voter registration
6 22 application relating to citizenship shall be notified by the
6 23 commissioner of that fact, shall be advised that the
6 24 registrant may complete another application before the date of
6 25 the next general election, and shall be sent a new voter
6 26 registration application. However, the registration based on
6 27 the original application shall be entered in the voter
6 28 registration records as an active registration for all
6 29 purposes. Current law provides that until a new application
6 30 is completed, the registration shall be entered as a local
6 31 registration and the registrant may only vote in elections
6 32 that do not have a federal office on the ballot.
6 33 Code section 48A.37 is amended to delete the reference to
6 34 local registrations. The Code section is also amended to
6 35 provide that a pending registration shall be made an active
7 1 registration when the voter presents identification at the
7 2 polls and votes. Code section 48A.37 is further amended to
7 3 add incomplete registration records, which are defined as
7 4 registrations in which the required identification number
7 5 could not be verified or registrations which are lacking
7 6 required information, and cancelled registrations, which are
7 7 those registrations cancelled pursuant to Code section 48A.30.
7 8 Code section 52.5 is amended to provide that rules adopted
7 9 by the state commissioner governing the testing and
7 10 examination of voting machines and electronic voting systems
7 11 shall require newly approved voting systems to meet standards
7 12 adopted by the federal election commission or the voluntary
7 13 guidelines adopted by the election assistance commission.
7 14 Currently, the rules are required to be based on the standards
7 15 adopted by the federal election commission.
7 16 LSB 1860YC 82
7 17 sc:nh/gg/14