Senate Study Bill 3093 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT BILL BY CHAIRPERSON DANIELSON) A BILL FOR An Act lowering the minimum age at which a person may register 1 to vote. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 5650SC (1) 84 aw/sc

S.F. _____ Section 1. Section 48A.5, subsection 2, paragraph c, Code 1 2011, is amended to read as follows: 2 c. Be at least eighteen years of age. Completed 3 registration forms shall be accepted from registrants who are 4 at least seventeen and one-half sixteen years of age ; however . 5 However , the registration shall not be effective until the 6 registrant reaches the age of eighteen. The commissioner of 7 registration shall ensure that the birth date shown on the 8 registration form is at least seventeen and one-half sixteen 9 years earlier than the date the registration is processed. A 10 registrant who is at least seventeen and one-half years of age 11 and who will be eighteen by the date of a pending election is 12 a registered voter for the pending election for purposes of 13 chapter 53 . 14 Sec. 2. Section 48A.14, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code 15 2011, is amended to read as follows: 16 b. The challenged registrant is less than seventeen and 17 one-half sixteen years of age. 18 Sec. 3. Section 48A.23, subsection 1, Code 2011, is amended 19 to read as follows: 20 1. At least twice during each school year, the board of 21 directors of each school district operating a high school and 22 the authorities in charge of each accredited nonpublic school 23 shall offer the opportunity to register to vote to each student 24 who is at least seventeen and one-half sixteen years of age. 25 Sec. 4. Section 48A.26, subsection 9, Code 2011, is amended 26 to read as follows: 27 9. When a person who is at least seventeen and one-half 28 sixteen years of age but less than eighteen years of age 29 registers to vote, the commissioner shall maintain a record of 30 the registration so as to clearly indicate that it will not 31 take effect until the registrant’s eighteenth birthday and that 32 the person is registered and qualifies to vote at any election 33 held on or after that date. 34 Sec. 5. Section 48A.31, Code 2011, is amended to read as 35 -1- LSB 5650SC (1) 84 aw/sc 1/ 2

S.F. _____ follows: 1 48A.31 Deceased persons record. 2 The state registrar of vital statistics shall transmit 3 or cause to be transmitted to the state registrar of voters, 4 once each calendar quarter, a certified list of all persons 5 seventeen and one-half sixteen years of age and older in 6 the state whose deaths have been reported to the bureau of 7 vital records of the Iowa department of public health since 8 the previous list of decedents was certified to the state 9 registrar of voters. The list shall be submitted according 10 to the specifications of the state registrar of voters. The 11 commissioner shall, in the month following the end of a 12 calendar quarter, run the statewide voter registration system’s 13 matching program to determine whether a listed decedent was 14 registered to vote in the county and shall immediately cancel 15 the registration of any person named on the list of decedents. 16 Sec. 6. Section 280.9A, subsection 3, Code 2011, is amended 17 to read as follows: 18 3. At least twice during each school year, the board of 19 directors of each local public school district operating a 20 high school and the authorities in charge of each accredited 21 nonpublic school operating a high school shall offer the 22 opportunity to register to vote to each student who is at least 23 seventeen and one-half sixteen years of age, as required by 24 section 48A.23 . 25 EXPLANATION 26 This bill lowers the minimum age at which a person may 27 register to vote. 28 The bill requires that the county commissioner of 29 registration accept completed voter registration forms from 30 registrants who are at least 16 years of age. Current law 31 requires the county commissioner of registration to accept such 32 forms from registrants who are at least 17 and one-half years 33 of age. 34 -2- LSB 5650SC (1) 84 aw/sc 2/ 2