HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT BILL BY CHAIRPERSON COWNIE)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to persons not permitted to return an absentee voter’s ballot.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  Section 53.17, Code 2011, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  5.  The person designated by a voter to return a completed absentee ballot may be any person the voter chooses, except that a candidate whose name is on the ballot or an elected official shall not serve as a voter’s designee or otherwise return a ballot under this section.
EXPLANATION
   Current law provides that an absentee voter may designate a person to return the voter’s absentee ballot. This bill provides that a candidate whose name is on the ballot or an elected official shall not serve as a voter’s designated person.