HOUSE FILE 157

BY  KAUFMANN and RAECKER

A BILL FOR

An Act allowing voters to reject all candidates on general election ballots for certain offices and providing for a special election and for filing deadlines. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  Section 49.37, Code 2011, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  4.
  a.  Any ballot upon which appears the names of candidates for an elective state office or for the general assembly shall contain for each of those offices an additional line equivalent to the lines on which the candidates’ names appear and placed at the end of the row or column containing the names of the candidates for that office. Each such additional line shall contain a voting target whereby the voter may express the voter’s choice of that line in the same manner as the voter would choose a candidate, and the line shall read “None of These Candidates”. 
   b.  For purposes of this subsection,“elective state office” means the offices of governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, secretary of agriculture, and attorney general. 
   Sec. 2.  Section 50.45, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   50.45  Canvass public —— result determined.
   1.  All canvasses of tally lists shall be public, and the persons having the greatest number of votes shall be declared elected, except that if the choice “None of These Candidates” receives a simple majority of the total votes cast for that office, no person shall be declared elected, and the governor shall order a special election and issue a proclamation pursuant to section 39.6. The special election shall be conducted in the manner provided for in section 69.21.
    2.  When a public measure has been submitted to the electors, the proposition shall be declared to have been adopted if the vote cast in favor of the question is greater than fifty percent of the total vote cast in favor and against the question, unless laws pertaining specifically to the public measure election establish a higher percentage of a favorable vote. All ballots cast and not counted as a vote in favor or against the proposition shall not be used in computing the total vote cast in favor and against the proposition.
   Sec. 3.  Section 50.46, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   50.46  Special elections —— canvass and certificate.
   When a special election has been held to fill a vacancy, pursuant to section 69.14, or when a special election has been held pursuant to section 69.21, the board of county canvassers shall meet no earlier than 1:00 p.m. on the second day after the election, and canvass the votes cast at the election. If the second day after the election is a public holiday, section 4.1, subsection 34, controls. The commissioner, as soon as the canvass is completed, shall transmit to the state commissioner an abstract of the votes so canvassed, and the state board, within five days after receiving such abstracts, shall canvass the tally lists. A certificate of election shall be issued by the county or state board of canvassers, as in other cases. All the provisions regulating elections, obtaining tally lists, and canvass of votes at general elections, except as to time, shall apply to special elections.
   Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  69.21  Special election —— general assembly and elective state offices.
   1.  A special election ordered pursuant to section shall be held not less than forty-two and not more than fifty days following the date the governor ordered the special election. 
   2.
  a.  A political party that had a candidate on the general election ballot for the office for which a special election has been ordered may nominate another candidate for the office in the manner provided for in section 43.78, subsection 1. 
   b.  Nominations for all other candidates may be made as follows: 
   (1)  For an elective state office, by nomination petition signed by not less than one thousand eligible electors of the state. 
   (2)  For senator in the general assembly, by nomination petition signed by not less than one hundred eligible electors of the senate district. 
   (3)  For representative in the general assembly, by nomination petition signed by not less than fifty eligible electors of the representative district. 
   c.  A candidate whose name was on the general election ballot for the office for which a special election has been ordered is disqualified from nomination in the special election. 
   3.  Nomination petitions must be filed in the office of the state commissioner of elections not later than 5:00 p.m. on the twenty-fifth day before the special election. Each nomination petition must be accompanied by an affidavit executed by the candidate in the same form as that provided in section 43.18, section 44.3, subsection 2, or section 45.3, whichever is applicable. 
   4.
  a.  A candidate nominated for an office to be filled at the special election may withdraw as a nominee for that office on or before, but not later than, the fifteenth day before the date of the special election by notifying the state commissioner of elections in writing. 
   b.  If a person who has filed nomination papers with the state commissioner as a candidate in the special election dies or withdraws on or before the fifteenth day before the special election, the appropriate convention of that person’s political party may designate one additional special election candidate for the nomination that person was seeking, if the designation is submitted to the state commissioner in writing no later than 5:00 p.m. on the twelfth day before the date of the special election. 
   5.  Objections to the eligibility of a candidate in the special election must be filed pursuant to section 43.24 not less than nineteen days before the date of the special election. 
   6.  The state commissioner of elections shall certify to the commissioner of each county at the earliest practicable time, and under separate party headings, the name of each person nominated, the office to which the person is nominated, and the order in which the tickets of the several political parties shall appear on the official ballot. 
   7.  The ballots provided for the special election shall not contain the designation “None of These Candidates”.
   8.  The votes cast in the special election shall be canvassed and a certificate of election issued in the manner provided for in section 50.46. The candidate-elect shall be sworn into office immediately following the issuance of the certificate of election by the state commissioner of elections. 
   Sec. 5.  IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT.  Section 25B.2, subsection 3, shall not apply to this Act.
EXPLANATION
   This bill provides that general election ballots for elective state offices and for the general assembly shall include the designation “None of These Candidates” as a choice for the voter. Elective state office means governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, secretary of agriculture, and attorney general. 
    The bill also provides that if the choice “None of These Candidates” receives a simple majority of the votes cast for a particular office, a special election shall be ordered for that office. The special election is to be held not less than and not more than 50 days following the date the special election is ordered. New candidates may be nominated by convention or by petition. Candidates on the original general election ballot are disqualified from nomination as a candidate in the special election. Candidates elected at the special election are to be sworn in immediately after the state commissioner issues the certificate of election. 
   The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code section 25B.3. The bill makes inapplicable Code section 25B.2, subsection 3, which would relieve a political subdivision from complying with a state mandate if funding for the cost of the state mandate is not provided or specified. Therefore, political subdivisions are required to comply with any state mandate included in the bill.