House Study Bill 138 



                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON
                                            STATE GOVERNMENT BILL
                                            BY CHAIRPERSON MASCHER)


    Passed House,  Date               Passed Senate, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the time of opening the polls for certain city
  2    elections.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  4 TLSB 2014HC 83
  5 sc/nh/8

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 49.73, subsection 1, Code 2009, is
  1  2 amended to read as follows:
  1  3    1.  At all elections, except as otherwise permitted by this
  1  4 section, the polls shall be opened at 7:00 a.m. if at least
  1  5 one official from each of the political parties referred to in
  1  6 section 49.13 is present.  On the basis of voter turnout for
  1  7 recent similar elections and factors considered likely to so
  1  8 affect voter turnout for the forthcoming election as to
  1  9 justify shortened voting hours for that election, the
  1 10 commissioner may direct that the polls be opened at 12:00 noon
  1 11 for:
  1 12    a.  Any school district election.
  1 13    b.  Any election conducted for a city of three thousand
  1 14 five hundred or less population, including a local option
  1 15 sales and services tax election conducted pursuant to section
  1 16 423B.1.  At elections conducted pursuant to chapter 423B, all
  1 17 polling places shall have the same voting hours.
  1 18    c.  Any election conducted for a city of more than three
  1 19 thousand five hundred population if there is no contest for
  1 20 any office on the ballot and no public question is being
  1 21 submitted to the voters at that election.
  1 22    d.  c.  Any election conducted for a benefited district.
  1 23    e.  d.  Any election conducted for the unincorporated area
  1 24 of a county.
  1 25                           EXPLANATION
  1 26    This bill allows the county commissioner of elections to
  1 27 open the polls at noon rather than 7:00 a.m. for any city
  1 28 election.  Currently, the polls may open at noon for city
  1 29 elections in cities with a population of 3,500 or less or in
  1 30 any city if there is no contested election or no public
  1 31 measure on the ballot.
  1 32 LSB 2014HC 83
  1 33 sc/nh/8