Senate File 333 - Introduced SENATE FILE 333 BY SODDERS A BILL FOR An Act relating to the provision of absentee ballots to 1 residents or patients of certain health care facilities and 2 hospitals. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1930SS (4) 84 sc/rj

S.F. 333 Section 1. Section 39A.4, subsection 1, paragraph c, 1 subparagraphs (11) and (12), Code 2011, are amended to read as 2 follows: 3 (11) Returning a voted absentee ballot, by mail or in 4 person, to the commissioner’s office and the person returning 5 the ballot is not the voter, the voter’s designee, or a special 6 precinct election official designated pursuant to section 7 53.22, subsection 1 1A . 8 (12) Making a false or untrue statement reporting that 9 a voted absentee ballot was returned to the commissioner’s 10 office, by mail or in person, by a person other than the voter, 11 the voter’s designee, or a special precinct election official 12 designated pursuant to section 53.22, subsection 1 1A . 13 Sec. 2. Section 53.8, subsection 3, paragraphs a and b, Code 14 2011, are amended to read as follows: 15 a. When an application for an absentee ballot is received 16 by the commissioner of any county from a registered voter who 17 is a patient in a hospital in that county or a resident of any 18 facility in that county shown to be a health care facility by 19 the list of licenses provided the commissioner under section 20 135C.29 , the absentee ballot shall be mailed or personally 21 delivered to the voter and returned to the commissioner in the 22 manner prescribed by section 53.22 . 23 b. (1) If the application indicates that the ballot is to 24 be personally delivered to the applicant and the application 25 is received more than five days before the ballots are printed 26 and the commissioner has elected to have the ballots personally 27 delivered during the ten-day period after the ballots are 28 printed, the commissioner shall mail to the applicant within 29 twenty-four hours a letter in substantially the following form: 30 Your application for an absentee ballot for the election 31 to be held on ...... has been received. This ballot will 32 be personally delivered to you by a bipartisan team sometime 33 during the ten days after the ballots are printed. If you will 34 not be at the address from which your application was sent 35 -1- LSB 1930SS (4) 84 sc/rj 1/ 5

S.F. 333 during any or all of the ten-day period immediately following 1 the printing of the ballots, the ballot will be personally 2 delivered to you sometime during the fourteen days preceding 3 the election. If you will not be at the address from which 4 your application was sent during either of these time periods, 5 contact this office and arrangements will be made to have your 6 absentee ballot delivered at a time when you will be present at 7 that address. 8 (2) If the application indicates that the ballot is to be 9 personally delivered to the applicant and the application is 10 received more than fourteen calendar days before the election 11 and the commissioner has not elected to mail absentee ballots 12 to applicants as provided under section 53.22, subsection 3 , 13 and has not elected to have the absentee ballots personally 14 delivered during the ten-day period after the ballots are 15 printed, the commissioner shall mail to the applicant within 16 twenty-four hours a letter in substantially the following form: 17 Your application for an absentee ballot for the election 18 to be held on ...... has been received. This ballot will 19 be personally delivered to you by a bipartisan team sometime 20 during the fourteen days preceding the election. If you will 21 not be at the address from which your application was sent 22 during any or all of the fourteen-day period immediately 23 preceding the election, contact this office and arrangements 24 will be made to have your absentee ballot delivered at a time 25 when you will be present at that address. 26 Sec. 3. Section 53.17, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2011, 27 is amended to read as follows: 28 a. The sealed return envelope may be delivered by the 29 registered voter, by the voter’s designee, or by the special 30 precinct election officials designated pursuant to section 31 53.22, subsection 1 1A , to the commissioner’s office no later 32 than the time the polls are closed on election day. However, 33 if delivered by the voter’s designee, the envelope shall be 34 delivered within seventy-two hours of retrieving it from the 35 -2- LSB 1930SS (4) 84 sc/rj 2/ 5

S.F. 333 voter or before the closing of the polls on election day, 1 whichever is earlier. 2 Sec. 4. Section 53.22, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2011, 3 is amended to read as follows: 4 a. (1) A registered voter who has applied for an absentee 5 ballot, in a manner other than that prescribed by section 6 53.10 or 53.11 , and who is a resident or patient in a health 7 care facility or hospital located in the county to which 8 the application has been submitted shall be delivered the 9 appropriate absentee ballot in the manner provided in this 10 section. The application for an absentee ballot shall include 11 space for an applicant under this section to indicate whether 12 the applicant wants the ballot mailed or personally delivered 13 to the applicant. 14 1A. a. (1) If the applicant indicated on the application 15 that the ballot be personally delivered, or if the applicant 16 did not indicate a preference on the application, the ballot 17 shall be delivered by two special precinct election officers, 18 one of whom shall be a member of each of the political parties 19 referred to in section 49.13 , who shall be appointed by the 20 commissioner from the election board panel for the special 21 precinct established by section 53.20 . The special precinct 22 election officers shall be sworn in the manner provided 23 by section 49.75 for election board members, shall receive 24 compensation as provided in section 49.20 , and shall perform 25 their duties during the ten calendar days after the ballots 26 are printed if the commissioner so elects, during the fourteen 27 calendar days preceding the election, and on election day if 28 all ballots requested under section 53.8, subsection 3 , have 29 not previously been delivered and returned. 30 (2) If materials are prepared for the two special precinct 31 election officials, a list shall be made of all voters to whom 32 ballots are to be delivered. The list shall be sent with the 33 officials who deliver the ballots and shall include spaces to 34 indicate whether the person was present at the hospital or 35 -3- LSB 1930SS (4) 84 sc/rj 3/ 5

S.F. 333 health care facility when the officials arrived, whether the 1 person requested assistance from the officials, whether the 2 person was assisted by another person of the voter’s choice, 3 the time that the ballot was returned to the officials, and any 4 other notes the officials deem necessary. 5 (3) The officials shall also be issued a supply of extra 6 ballots to replace spoiled ballots. Receipts shall be 7 issued in substantially the same form as receipts issued to 8 precinct election officials pursuant to section 49.65 . All 9 ballots shall be accounted for and shall be returned to the 10 commissioner. Separate envelopes shall be provided for the 11 return of spoiled ballots and unused ballots. 12 Sec. 5. Section 53.22, Code 2011, is amended by adding the 13 following new subsection: 14 NEW SUBSECTION . 1B. If the applicant indicated on the 15 application that the ballot be mailed to the applicant, the 16 commissioner shall mail the ballot to the applicant in the time 17 prescribed by section 53.8, subsection 1. 18 Sec. 6. Section 53.22, subsection 3, Code 2011, is amended 19 to read as follows: 20 3. For any election except a primary or general election or 21 a special election to fill a vacancy under section 69.14 , the 22 commissioner may, as an alternative to subsection 1 subsections 23 1A and 1B , mail an absentee ballot to an applicant under 24 this section to be voted and returned to the commissioner in 25 accordance with this chapter . This subsection only applies to 26 applications for absentee ballots from a single health care 27 facility or hospital if there are no more than two applications 28 from that facility or hospital. 29 EXPLANATION 30 This bill provides that an applicant for an absentee ballot 31 who is a resident or patient of a health care facility or 32 hospital may indicate on the application whether the applicant 33 wants the absentee ballot personally delivered or mailed to the 34 applicant. 35 -4- LSB 1930SS (4) 84 sc/rj 4/ 5

S.F. 333 Under current law, a resident or patient of a health care 1 facility or hospital who makes application for an absentee 2 ballot is, in most circumstances, delivered the ballot by two 3 special precinct election officials appointed by the county 4 commissioner of elections. 5 -5- LSB 1930SS (4) 84 sc/rj 5/ 5