H.F. 2470 Section 1. Section 48A.7A, subsection 1, paragraph b, 1 subparagraph (2), subparagraph division (d), Code 2009, is 2 amended to read as follows: 3 (d) Bank statement provided by the financial institution 4 either electronically or by regular mail . 5 Sec. 2. Section 48A.7A, subsection 1, paragraph b, 6 subparagraph (2), Code 2009, is amended by adding the following 7 new subparagraph division: 8 NEW SUBPARAGRAPH DIVISION . (h) A receipt for payment of an 9 item in subparagraph division (b) or (c). 10 Sec. 3. Section 48A.11, subsection 1, Code 2009, is amended 11 by adding the following new paragraph: 12 NEW PARAGRAPH . n. Whether the registrant wishes to request 13 an absentee ballot and the name and date of the election for 14 which the absentee ballot is requested. A registrant may 15 request an absentee ballot under this paragraph for an election 16 held in the year of registration. 17 Sec. 4. Section 48A.18, Code 2009, is amended by adding the 18 following new subsection: 19 NEW SUBSECTION . 6. The department or a county treasurer’s 20 office is not required to inquire of a registrant, or a person 21 who declines registration, whether the registrant or person 22 would like to request an absentee ballot. 23 Sec. 5. Section 49.77, subsection 3, Code Supplement 2009, 24 is amended to read as follows: 25 3. a. A precinct election official shall require any person 26 whose name does not appear on the election register as an 27 active voter to show identification. Specific documents which 28 are acceptable forms of identification shall be prescribed by 29 the state commissioner. A precinct election official shall not 30 require any person whose name appears on the election register 31 as an active voter to show identification. 32 b. A precinct election official may require of the voter 33 unknown to the official, identification in the form prescribed 34 by the state commissioner by rule. If identification is 35 -1- LSB 6187HV (2) 83 sc/nh 1/ 8

H.F. 2470 established to the satisfaction of the precinct election 1 officials, the person may then be allowed to vote. 2 Sec. 6. Section 49.104, Code 2009, is amended by adding the 3 following new unnumbered paragraph: 4 NEW UNNUMBERED PARAGRAPH . Persons appointed under 5 subsections 2 or 5 shall not be prohibited from advocating on 6 the behalf of a voter at the polling place. 7 Sec. 7. Section 50.20, Code 2009, is amended to read as 8 follows: 9 50.20 Notice of number of provisional ballots. 10 The commissioner shall compile a list of the number of 11 provisional ballots cast under section 49.81 in each precinct. 12 The list shall include the name and address of those persons 13 in each precinct who cast provisional ballots. The list 14 shall be made available to the public as soon as possible, but 15 in no case later than nine o’clock 9:00 a.m. on the second 16 day following the election. Any elector may examine the list 17 during normal office hours, and may also examine the affidavit 18 envelopes bearing the ballots of challenged electors until 19 the reconvening of the special precinct board as required by 20 this chapter. Only those persons so permitted by section 21 53.23, subsection 4, shall have access to the affidavits while 22 that board is in session. Any elector may present written 23 statements or documents, supporting or opposing the counting of 24 any provisional ballot, at the commissioner’s office until the 25 reconvening of the special precinct board. 26 Sec. 8. Section 50.21, Code 2009, is amended to read as 27 follows: 28 50.21 Special precinct board reconvened. 29 1. The commissioner shall reconvene the election board of 30 the special precinct established by section 53.20 not earlier 31 than noon on the second third day following each election which 32 is required by law to be canvassed on the Monday or Tuesday 33 following the election. If the second third day following such 34 an election is a legal holiday the special precinct election 35 -2- LSB 6187HV (2) 83 sc/nh 2/ 8

H.F. 2470 board may be convened at noon on the second day following the 1 election, and if the canvass of the election is scheduled at 2 any time earlier than the Monday following the election, the 3 special precinct election board shall be reconvened at noon on 4 the day following the election. 5 2. If no provisional ballots were cast in the county 6 pursuant to section 49.81 at any election, the special precinct 7 election board need not be so reconvened. If the number of 8 provisional ballots cast at any election is not sufficient to 9 require reconvening of the entire election board of the special 10 precinct, the commissioner may reconvene only the number of 11 members required. If the number of provisional ballots cast at 12 any election exceeds the number of absentee ballots cast, the 13 size of the special precinct election board may be increased 14 at the commissioner’s discretion. The commissioner shall 15 observe the requirements of sections 49.12 and 49.13 in making 16 adjustments to the size of the special precinct election board. 17 Sec. 9. Section 53.1, subsection 1, Code 2009, is amended 18 to read as follows: 19 1. Any registered voter may vote absentee , subject to the 20 provisions of this chapter, vote at any election : 21 a. When the voter expects to be absent on election day 22 during the time the polls are open from the precinct in which 23 the voter is a registered voter. 24 b. When, through illness or physical disability, the voter 25 expects to be prevented from going to the polls and voting on 26 election day. 27 c. When the voter expects to be unable to go to the polls 28 and vote on election day . 29 Sec. 10. Section 53.2, subsections 1 and 4, Code Supplement 30 2009, are amended to read as follows: 31 1. a. Any registered voter , under the circumstances 32 specified in section 53.1 , may on any day, except election 33 day, and not more than seventy days prior to the date of 34 the election, apply in person for an absentee ballot at the 35 -3- LSB 6187HV (2) 83 sc/nh 3/ 8

H.F. 2470 commissioner’s office or at any location designated by the 1 commissioner. However, for those elections in which the 2 commissioner directs the polls be opened at noon pursuant to 3 section 49.73, a voter may apply in person for an absentee 4 ballot at the commissioner’s office from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 5 a.m. on election day. 6 b. A registered voter may make written application to the 7 commissioner for an absentee ballot. A written application 8 for an absentee ballot must be received by the commissioner 9 no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before the election. A 10 written application for an absentee ballot delivered to the 11 commissioner and received by the commissioner more than seventy 12 days prior to the date of the election or at any time during the 13 calendar year of the election for which the absentee ballot is 14 requested shall be retained by the commissioner and processed 15 in the same manner as a written application received not more 16 than seventy days before the date of the election. 17 4. Each application shall contain the name and signature 18 of the registered voter, the registered voter’s date of birth, 19 the address at which the voter is registered to vote, and the 20 name or date of the election for which the absentee ballot is 21 requested, and such other information as may be necessary to 22 determine the correct absentee ballot for the registered voter. 23 Spaces for information on the prescribed form shall be arranged 24 in such a manner that required information is at the beginning 25 of the form before spaces for information that is optional to 26 include. If insufficient information has been provided, either 27 on the prescribed form or on an application created by the 28 applicant, the commissioner shall, by the best means available, 29 obtain the additional necessary information. 30 Sec. 11. NEW SECTION . 53.4 Receipt of application for 31 ballot —— notation on registration record. 32 Beginning on the one hundredth day before the election, 33 all applications for absentee ballots for that election, 34 and any information contained on an absentee ballot 35 -4- LSB 6187HV (2) 83 sc/nh 4/ 8

H.F. 2470 application pertaining to the applicant’s voter registration 1 record, shall be recorded on the statewide voter registration 2 system within forty-eight hours of receipt of the application 3 by the commissioner. 4 Sec. 12. Section 53.20, subsection 2, Code Supplement 2009, 5 is amended by adding the following new paragraph: 6 NEW PARAGRAPH . c. The reports required by this subsection 7 shall be forwarded to the state commissioner who shall compile 8 the reports into one statewide report for each precinct in each 9 county and shall make the report available to the public. 10 Sec. 13. Section 53.23, subsection 1, Code Supplement 2009, 11 is amended to read as follows: 12 1. The election board of the absentee ballot and special 13 voters precinct shall be appointed by the commissioner in the 14 manner prescribed by sections 49.12 and 49.13, except that 15 the number of precinct election officials appointed to the 16 board shall be sufficient to complete the counting of absentee 17 ballots by 10:00 p.m. after the board convenes on election day. 18 Sec. 14. Section 53.23, subsection 3, paragraphs a and c, 19 Code Supplement 2009, are amended to read as follows: 20 a. The commissioner shall set the convening time for 21 the board, allowing a reasonable amount of time to complete 22 counting all absentee ballots by 10:00 p.m. after the board 23 convenes on election day. Once the commissioner has convened 24 the board on election day, the count required by this 25 subsection shall not cease or otherwise be interrupted until 26 the count is completed unless an equipment malfunction causes 27 the count to be interrupted . 28 c. For the general election, the commissioner may convene 29 the special precinct election board on the day before the 30 election to begin counting absentee ballots. However, if 31 in the preceding general election the counting of absentee 32 ballots was not completed by 10:00 p.m. on election day, the 33 commissioner shall convene the special precinct election board 34 on the day before the next general election to begin counting 35 -5- LSB 6187HV (2) 83 sc/nh 5/ 8

H.F. 2470 absentee ballots. The board shall not release the results of 1 its tabulation pursuant to this paragraph until the count is 2 completed on election day. 3 Sec. 15. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY. 4 1. Except as provided in subsection 2, this Act takes 5 effect July 1, 2010, and applies to elections held on or after 6 September 30, 2010. 7 2. The section of this Act amending section 48A.11 and 8 the portion of the section of this Act amending section 53.2, 9 subsection 4, take effect January 1, 2012. 10 EXPLANATION 11 This bill makes various changes to the laws relating to 12 absentee voting and voter registration. 13 The bill adds to the list of documents that are accepted 14 for purposes of establishing residency for election day and 15 in-person absentee voter registration. Currently, two of the 16 acceptable items are a property tax statement or utility bill 17 showing the name and address of the voter registrant. The bill 18 provides that a receipt for payment of either of these items is 19 acceptable if the receipt contains the name and address of the 20 voter registrant. The bill specifies that the bank statement 21 currently listed as an acceptable document for establishing 22 residency may be a bank statement provided by the financial 23 institution either electronically or by regular mail. 24 The bill requires the state commissioner to include on the 25 voter registration form space for the registrant to indicate 26 whether the registrant wishes to request an absentee ballot 27 and the name and date of the election, held in the year of 28 registration, for which the absentee ballot is requested. This 29 provision of the bill takes effect January 1, 2012. 30 The bill eliminates a provision authorizing a precinct 31 election official to ask for identification of any voter 32 unknown to the official. The bill further provides that a 33 precinct official shall not require identification of any 34 person whose name is on the election register as an active 35 -6- LSB 6187HV (2) 83 sc/nh 6/ 8

H.F. 2470 voter. 1 Under current law, the county commissioner of elections is 2 to compile a list, for public inspection within two days of 3 the election, of the number of provisional ballots cast in an 4 election. The bill requires that the list also include the 5 name and address of each person who cast a provisional ballot. 6 The bill provides that polling place observers appointed 7 by political parties or nonparty political organizations may 8 advocate on behalf of a voter at the polling place. 9 The bill strikes the reasons for which a voter may request an 10 absentee ballot and provides instead that any registered voter 11 may request and vote an absentee ballot. 12 Currently, if an application for an absentee ballot 13 is received more than 70 days before the election, the 14 commissioner is required to retain the application and process 15 it in the same manner as an application received in a timely 16 fashion. Under the bill, the commissioner would also retain an 17 application received at any time during the calendar year of 18 the election for which the ballot is requested and process it 19 immediately after the ballots become available. 20 The bill provides that spaces on the absentee ballot 21 application form prescribed by the state commissioner of 22 elections shall be arranged in such a manner that required 23 information is at the beginning of the form before spaces for 24 information that is optional to include. This provision of the 25 bill takes effect January 1, 2012. 26 The bill requires the commissioner, beginning on the 100th 27 day before the election, to record receipt of an absentee 28 ballot application, and any voter registration changes 29 resulting from certain information included on the application, 30 to be entered on the statewide voter registration system within 31 48 hours of receiving the application. 32 Currently for the general election, the county commissioner 33 of elections is required to report absentee and provisional 34 voting by resident precinct of the voter. The bill requires 35 -7- LSB 6187HV (2) 83 sc/nh 7/ 8

H.F. 2470 the county commissioner of elections to send the reports to the 1 state commissioner who shall compile a statewide report for 2 each precinct in each county. 3 The bill provides that once the special precinct election 4 board is convened by the commissioner on election day to count 5 absentee and provisional ballots, it must continue the count 6 until it is completed unless an equipment malfunction causes 7 the count to be interrupted. 8 Current law authorizes the commissioner to take certain 9 actions in order to complete the count by 10:00 p.m. on 10 election day. Those provisions are amended to authorize the 11 same actions in order to complete the count once the board has 12 convened on election day. 13 The bill strikes the provision that required the 14 commissioner to convene the special precinct election board on 15 the day before the election to begin counting ballots if in the 16 preceding general election the count was not completed by 10:00 17 p.m. on election day. 18 The bill provides that the special precinct election board 19 shall be reconvened no earlier than noon on the third day, 20 rather than the second day, following the election. 21 Except as otherwise noted, the bill takes effect July 1, 22 2010, and applies to elections held on or after September 30, 23 2010. 24 -8- LSB 6187HV (2) 83 sc/nh 8/ 8