House File 2406 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2406 BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 541) A BILL FOR An Act relating to school corporations and cities by changing 1 the date of the election of directors of local school 2 districts, merged areas, and area education agency boards, 3 by providing for the combined administration of regular 4 and special school and city elections, by requiring city 5 office nomination papers be filed with the city clerk, and 6 including effective date and applicability and transition 7 provisions. 8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 9 TLSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc

H.F. 2406 DIVISION I 1 ELECTION DAY FOR REGULAR SCHOOL ELECTIONS 2 Section 1. Section 39.2, subsection 4, paragraph c, Code 3 2016, is amended to read as follows: 4 c. For a school district or merged area, in the odd-numbered 5 year, the first Tuesday in February March , the first Tuesday in 6 April May , the last first Tuesday in June August , or the second 7 first Tuesday after the first Monday in September November . 8 For a school district or merged area, in the even-numbered 9 year, the first Tuesday in February March , the first Tuesday 10 in April May , the second first Tuesday in September August , or 11 the first Tuesday in December. 12 Sec. 2. Section 260C.12, subsection 1, Code 2016, is amended 13 to read as follows: 14 1. The board of directors of the merged area shall organize 15 at the first regular meeting in October December following the 16 regular school election. Organization of the board shall be 17 effected by the election of a president and other officers from 18 the board membership as board members determine. The board 19 of directors shall appoint a secretary and a treasurer who 20 shall each give bond as prescribed in section 291.2 and who 21 shall each receive the salary determined by the board. The 22 secretary and treasurer shall perform duties under chapter 291 23 and additional duties the board of directors deems necessary. 24 However, the board may appoint one person to serve as the 25 secretary and treasurer. If one person serves as the secretary 26 and treasurer, only one bond is necessary for that person. The 27 frequency of meetings other than organizational meetings shall 28 be as determined by the board of directors but the president 29 or a majority of the members may call a special meeting at any 30 time. 31 Sec. 3. Section 260C.13, subsection 1, Code 2016, is amended 32 to read as follows: 33 1. The board of a merged area may change the number of 34 directors on the board and shall make corresponding changes 35 -1- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 1/ 29

H.F. 2406 in the boundaries of director districts. Changes shall be 1 completed not later than June August 1 of the year of the 2 regular school election. As soon as possible after adoption 3 of the boundary changes, notice of changes in the director 4 district boundaries shall be submitted by the merged area to 5 the county commissioner of elections in all counties included 6 in whole or in part in the merged area. 7 Sec. 4. Section 273.8, subsection 2, paragraphs a and b, 8 Code 2016, are amended to read as follows: 9 a. Notice of the election shall be published by the area 10 education agency administrator not later than July September 15 11 of the odd-numbered year in at least one newspaper of general 12 circulation in the director district. The cost of publication 13 shall be paid by the area education agency. 14 b. A candidate for election to the area education agency 15 board shall file a statement of candidacy with the area 16 education agency secretary not later than August October 15 of 17 the odd-numbered year, on forms prescribed by the department 18 of education. The statement of candidacy shall include the 19 candidate’s name, address, and school district. The list of 20 candidates shall be sent by the secretary of the area education 21 agency in ballot form by certified mail to the presidents of 22 the boards of directors of all school districts within the 23 director district not later than September November 1. In 24 order for the ballot to be counted, the ballot must be received 25 in the secretary’s office by the end of the normal business 26 day on September November 30 or be clearly postmarked by an 27 officially authorized postal service not later than September 28 November 29 and received by the secretary not later than noon 29 on the first Monday following September November 30. 30 Sec. 5. Section 273.8, subsection 4, paragraph a, Code 2016, 31 is amended to read as follows: 32 a. The board of directors of each area education agency 33 shall meet and organize at the first regular meeting in October 34 December following the regular school election at a suitable 35 -2- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 2/ 29

H.F. 2406 place designated by the president. Directors whose terms 1 commence at the organizational meeting shall qualify by taking 2 the oath of office required by section 277.28 at or before the 3 organizational meeting. 4 Sec. 6. Section 273.8, subsection 6, Code 2016, is amended 5 to read as follows: 6 6. Change in directors. The board of an area education 7 agency may change the number of directors on the board and 8 shall make corresponding changes in the boundaries of director 9 districts. Changes shall be completed not later than July 10 September 1 of a fiscal the odd-numbered year for the director 11 district conventions to be held the following September 12 November . 13 Sec. 7. Section 277.1, Code 2016, is amended to read as 14 follows: 15 277.1 Regular election. 16 The regular election shall be held biennially on the second 17 first Tuesday after the first Monday in September November of 18 each odd-numbered year in each school district for the election 19 of officers of the district and merged area and for the purpose 20 of submitting to the voters any matter authorized by law. 21 Sec. 8. Section 277.20, Code 2016, is amended to read as 22 follows: 23 277.20 Canvassing returns. 24 1. On the next Friday after After the regular school 25 election, the county board of supervisors shall canvass the 26 returns made to the county commissioner of elections from 27 the several precinct polling places and the absentee ballot 28 counting board, ascertain the result of the voting with regard 29 to every matter voted upon and cause a record to be made 30 thereof , all as required by section 50.24 . Special elections 31 held in school districts shall be canvassed at the time and in 32 the manner required by that section. The board shall declare 33 the results of the voting for members of boards of directors of 34 school corporations nominated pursuant to section 277.4 , and 35 -3- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 3/ 29

H.F. 2406 the commissioner shall at once issue a certificate of election 1 to each person declared elected. The board shall also declare 2 the results of the voting on any public question submitted to 3 the voters of a single school district, and the commissioner 4 shall certify the result as required by section 50.27 . 5 2. The abstracts of the votes cast for members of the board 6 of directors of any merged area, and of the votes cast on any 7 public question submitted to the voters of any merged area, 8 shall be promptly certified by the commissioner to the county 9 commissioner of elections who is responsible under section 47.2 10 for conducting the elections held for that merged area. 11 Sec. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. This division of this Act takes 12 effect July 1, 2017. 13 Sec. 10. APPLICABILITY. 14 1. This division of this Act applies to regular school 15 elections held on or after November 7, 2017, and to the terms 16 of office of directors of local school districts, merged areas, 17 and area education agencies commencing on or after that date. 18 2. Under this division of this Act, the regular school 19 elections previously scheduled to be held in September 20 2017 shall be held in November 2017, and all such elections 21 previously scheduled to be held in September 2019 shall be held 22 in November 2019. 23 DIVISION II 24 COMBINED ADMINISTRATION OF CITY AND SCHOOL ELECTIONS 25 Sec. 11. Section 39.2, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code 2016, 26 is amended to read as follows: 27 b. A special election shall not be held in conjunction with 28 the primary election. A special election shall not be held in 29 conjunction with a school election unless the special election 30 is for a school district or community college. A special 31 election shall not be held in conjunction with a regularly 32 scheduled or special city primary or city runoff election. 33 Sec. 12. Section 39.2, subsection 2, Code 2016, is amended 34 to read as follows: 35 -4- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 4/ 29

H.F. 2406 2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 1 , a special 1 election may be held on the same day as a regularly scheduled 2 election if the two elections are not in conflict within the 3 meaning of section 47.6, subsection 2 . A special election 4 may be held on the same day as a regularly scheduled election 5 with which it does so conflict if the commissioner who is 6 responsible for conducting the elections concludes that to do 7 so will cause no undue difficulties , except that a special 8 election for a city, school district, or merged area shall not 9 be scheduled to coincide with the general election . 10 Sec. 13. Section 39.2, subsection 4, paragraph b, Code 2016, 11 is amended to read as follows: 12 b. For a city, on the day of the general election, on the 13 day of the regular city election, on the date of a special 14 election held to fill a vacancy in the same city, or on in 15 the odd-numbered year, the first Tuesday in March, the first 16 Tuesday in May, or the first Tuesday in August of each year , or 17 the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November . For a 18 city, in the even-numbered year, the first Tuesday in March, 19 the first Tuesday in May, the first Tuesday in August, or the 20 first Tuesday in December. 21 Sec. 14. Section 44.4, subsection 1, Code 2016, is amended 22 to read as follows: 23 1. Nominations made pursuant to this chapter and chapter 24 45 which are required to be filed in the office of the state 25 commissioner shall be filed in that office not more than 26 ninety-nine days nor later than 5:00 p.m. on the eighty-first 27 day before the date of the general election to be held in 28 November. Nominations made for a special election called 29 pursuant to section 69.14 shall be filed by 5:00 p.m. not less 30 than twenty-five days before the date of an election called 31 upon at least forty days’ notice and not less than fourteen 32 days before the date of an election called upon at least 33 eighteen days’ notice. Nominations made for a special election 34 called pursuant to section 69.14A shall be filed by 5:00 p.m. 35 -5- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 5/ 29

H.F. 2406 not less than twenty-five days before the date of the election. 1 Nominations made pursuant to this chapter and chapter 45 which 2 are required to be filed in the office of the commissioner 3 shall be filed in that office not more than ninety-two days 4 nor later than 5:00 p.m. on the sixty-ninth day before the 5 date of the general election. Nominations made pursuant to 6 this chapter or chapter 45 for city office shall be filed not 7 more than seventy-two days nor later than 5:00 p.m. on the 8 forty-seventh day before the city election with the county 9 commissioner of elections responsible under section 47.2 for 10 conducting elections held for the city clerk , who shall process 11 them as provided by law. 12 Sec. 15. Section 44.4, subsection 2, paragraph a, 13 subparagraphs (2) and (3), Code 2016, are amended to read as 14 follows: 15 (2) Those filed with the commissioner, not less than 16 sixty-four days before the date of the election , except as 17 provided in subparagraph (3) . 18 (3) Those filed with the commissioner for an elective city 19 office clerk , at least forty-two days before the regularly 20 scheduled or special city election. However, for those cities 21 that may be required to hold a primary election, at least 22 sixty-three days before the regularly scheduled or special city 23 election. 24 Sec. 16. Section 44.7, Code 2016, is amended to read as 25 follows: 26 44.7 Hearing before commissioner. 27 Except as otherwise provided in section 44.8 , objections 28 Objections filed with the commissioner shall be considered by 29 the county auditor, county treasurer, and county attorney, and 30 a majority decision shall be final. However, if the objection 31 is to the certificate of nomination of one or more of the 32 above named county officers, the officer or officers objected 33 to shall not pass upon the objection, but their places shall 34 be filled, respectively, by the chairperson of the board of 35 -6- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 6/ 29

H.F. 2406 supervisors, the sheriff, and the county recorder. 1 Sec. 17. Section 44.8, subsection 1, Code 2016, is amended 2 to read as follows: 3 1. Objections filed with the city clerk pursuant to 4 section 362.4 or with the commissioner for an elective city 5 office shall be considered by the mayor and clerk and one 6 member of the council chosen by the council by ballot, and a 7 majority decision shall be final. However, if the objection 8 is to the certificate of nomination of either of those city 9 officials, that official shall not pass upon the objection, 10 but the official’s place shall be filled by a member of the 11 council against whom no such objection exists, chosen as above 12 provided. 13 Sec. 18. Section 44.9, subsections 2, 3, and 6, Code 2016, 14 are amended to read as follows: 15 2. In the office of the proper commissioner, at least 16 sixty-four days before the date of the election , except as 17 otherwise provided in subsection 6 . 18 3. In the office of the proper school board secretary, at 19 least thirty-five forty-two days before the day of a regularly 20 scheduled school election. 21 6. In the office of the proper commissioner city clerk , at 22 least forty-two days before the regularly scheduled or special 23 city election. However, for those cities that may be required 24 to hold a primary election, at least sixty-three days before a 25 regularly scheduled or special city election. 26 Sec. 19. Section 44.11, Code 2016, is amended to read as 27 follows: 28 44.11 Vacancies filled. 29 If a candidate named under this chapter withdraws before the 30 deadline established in section 44.9 , declines a nomination, 31 or dies before election day, or if a certificate of nomination 32 is held insufficient or inoperative by the officer with whom 33 it is required to be filed, or in case any objection made 34 to a certificate of nomination, or to the eligibility of any 35 -7- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 7/ 29

H.F. 2406 candidate named in the certificate, is sustained by the board 1 appointed to determine such questions, the vacancy or vacancies 2 may be filled by the convention, or caucus, or in such manner 3 as such convention or caucus has previously provided. The 4 vacancy or vacancies shall be filled not less than seventy-four 5 days before the election in the case of nominations required 6 to be filed with the state commissioner, not less than 7 sixty-four days before the election in the case of nominations 8 required to be filed with the commissioner, not less than 9 thirty-five forty-two days before the election in the case of 10 nominations required to be filed in the office of the school 11 board secretary, and not less than forty-two days before the 12 election in the case of nominations required to be filed with 13 the commissioner for city elections clerk . 14 Sec. 20. Section 47.2, subsection 2, Code 2016, is amended 15 to read as follows: 16 2. When an election is to be held as required by law or 17 is called by a political subdivision of the state and the 18 political subdivision is located in more than one county, the 19 county commissioner of elections of each of those counties 20 shall conduct that election within the commissioner’s county. 21 However, the commissioner for the county having the greatest 22 taxable base within the political subdivision shall conduct 23 that election serve as the controlling commissioner for 24 the election . The controlling commissioner shall receive 25 all nomination papers and public measures for the political 26 subdivision. By the forty-first day prior to the election, the 27 controlling commissioner shall certify the names of candidates 28 and the text and summary of any public measure being submitted 29 to the electorate to all county commissioners of elections 30 required to conduct elections for the political subdivision. 31 The county commissioners of elections of the other counties 32 in which the political subdivision is located shall cooperate 33 with the county controlling commissioner of elections who is 34 conducting the election . 35 -8- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 8/ 29

H.F. 2406 Sec. 21. Section 47.6, subsection 2, Code 2016, is amended 1 to read as follows: 2 2. For the purpose of this section , a conflict between 3 two elections exists only when one of the elections would 4 require use of precinct boundaries which differ from those 5 to be used for the other election, or when some but not all 6 of the registered voters of any precinct would be entitled 7 to vote in one of the elections and all of the registered 8 voters of the same precinct would be entitled to vote in 9 the other election. Nothing in this subsection shall deny 10 a commissioner discretionary authority to approve holding a 11 special election on the same date as another election, even 12 though the two elections may be defined as being in conflict, 13 if the commissioner concludes that to do so will cause no undue 14 difficulties. 15 Sec. 22. Section 49.9, Code 2016, is amended to read as 16 follows: 17 49.9 Proper place of voting. 18 Except as provided in section 49.11, subsection 3 , paragraph 19 “b” , and as required by the designation of a commissioner 20 pursuant to section 49.21, subsection 1, a person shall not 21 vote in any precinct but that of the person’s residence. 22 Sec. 23. Section 49.21, subsection 1, Code 2016, is amended 23 to read as follows: 24 1. a. It is the responsibility of the commissioner to 25 designate a polling place for each precinct in the county. 26 Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, for 27 city and school elections the commissioner shall, whenever 28 practicable, designate polling places so that an eligible 29 elector will be assigned to vote at the same polling place 30 at which the eligible elector would be assigned to vote at 31 the general election. However, if a city does not have a 32 polling place designated for the general election precinct, the 33 commissioner may designate an additional polling place for the 34 precinct in that city. 35 -9- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 9/ 29

H.F. 2406 b. Each polling place designated shall be accessible to 1 persons with disabilities. However, if the commissioner is 2 unable to provide an accessible polling place for a precinct, 3 the commissioner shall apply for a temporary waiver of the 4 accessibility requirement. The state commissioner shall adopt 5 rules in accordance with chapter 17A prescribing standards 6 for determining whether a polling place is accessible and the 7 process for applying for a temporary waiver of accessibility. 8 Sec. 24. Section 49.30, Code 2016, is amended to read as 9 follows: 10 49.30 All candidates and issues on one ballot —— exceptions. 11 1. All constitutional amendments, all public measures, and 12 the names of all candidates, other than presidential electors, 13 to be voted for in each election precinct , shall be printed on 14 one ballot, except that separate ballots are authorized when it 15 is not possible to include all offices and public measures on a 16 single ballot. In the event that it is not possible to include 17 all offices and public measures on a single ballot, separate 18 ballots may be provided for nonpartisan offices, judges, or 19 public measures. 20 2. If printed on the same ballot, the offices of political 21 subdivisions shall, if applicable, be printed in the following 22 order: 23 a. Those of a county. 24 b. Those of a city. 25 c. Those of a school district. 26 d. Those of a merged area. 27 e. Those of any other political subdivision. 28 3. If printed on the same ballot, the public measures of 29 political subdivisions shall be printed in the same order as 30 provided for offices of the political subdivisions. 31 Sec. 25. Section 49.31, subsection 2, paragraph b, Code 32 2016, is amended to read as follows: 33 b. The commissioner shall then arrange the surnames of each 34 political party’s candidates for each office to which two or 35 -10- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 10/ 29

H.F. 2406 more persons are to be elected at large alphabetically for 1 the respective offices for the first precinct on the list; 2 thereafter, for each political party and for each succeeding 3 precinct, the names appearing first for the respective offices 4 in the last preceding precinct shall be placed last, so that 5 the names that were second before the change shall be first 6 after the change. The commissioner may also rotate the names 7 of candidates of a political party in the reverse order of that 8 provided in this subsection or alternate the rotation so that 9 the candidates of different parties shall not be paired as they 10 proceed through the rotation. The procedure for arrangement 11 of names on ballots provided in this section shall likewise be 12 substantially followed in elections in political subdivisions 13 of less than a county. 14 Sec. 26. Section 49.31, subsection 2, Code 2016, is amended 15 by adding the following new paragraph: 16 NEW PARAGRAPH . d. On the regular and special city election 17 and school election ballots the names of candidates for city, 18 school district, and merged area offices shall be arranged 19 by drawing lots for position. The commissioner shall hold 20 the drawing on the second business day following the deadline 21 for filing of nomination papers or petitions under sections 22 260C.15, 277.4, and 376.4. If a candidate withdraws, dies, or 23 is removed from the ballot after the ballot position of names 24 has been determined, such candidate’s name shall be removed 25 from the ballot, and the order of the remaining names shall not 26 be changed. 27 Sec. 27. Section 49.31, subsection 3, Code 2016, is amended 28 to read as follows: 29 3. The Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, 30 paragraph “d” , the ballots for any city elections, school 31 elections, special election , or any other election at which 32 any office is to be filled on a nonpartisan basis and the 33 statutes governing the office to be filled are silent as to the 34 arrangement of names on the ballot, shall contain the names of 35 -11- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 11/ 29

H.F. 2406 all nominees or candidates arranged in alphabetical order by 1 surname under the heading of the office to be filled. When a 2 city election, school election, special election , or any other 3 election at which an office is to be filled on a nonpartisan 4 basis , is held under this subsection in more than one precinct, 5 the candidates’ names shall be rotated on the ballot from 6 precinct to precinct in the manner prescribed by subsection 7 2 unless there are no more candidates for an office than the 8 number of persons to be elected to that office. 9 Sec. 28. Section 49.41, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 10 2016, is amended to read as follows: 11 a. A person shall not be a candidate for more than one 12 office to be filled at the same election , except that a person 13 may be a candidate for a city office and school board office at 14 the same election . A person who has been nominated for more 15 than one office and is prohibited from being a candidate for 16 more than one office shall file a written notice declaring the 17 office for which the person wishes to appear on the ballot. 18 Sec. 29. Section 49.51, Code 2016, is amended to read as 19 follows: 20 49.51 Commissioner to control printing. 21 The commissioner shall have charge of the printing of the 22 ballots to be used for any election held in the county, unless 23 the commissioner delegates that authority as permitted by this 24 section . The commissioner may delegate this authority only 25 to another commissioner who is responsible under section 47.2 26 for conducting the elections held for a political subdivision 27 which lies in more than one county, and only with respect to 28 printing of ballots containing only public questions or the 29 names of candidates to be voted upon by the registered voters 30 of that political subdivision. Only one facsimile signature, 31 that of the commissioner under whose direction the ballot is 32 printed, shall appear on the ballot. It is the duty of the 33 commissioner to insure that the arrangement of any ballots 34 printed under the commissioner’s direction conforms to all 35 -12- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 12/ 29

H.F. 2406 applicable requirements of this chapter . 1 Sec. 30. Section 49.73, subsection 1, paragraphs a and b, 2 Code 2016, are amended by striking the paragraphs. 3 Sec. 31. Section 49.73, subsection 2, Code 2016, is amended 4 to read as follows: 5 2. The commissioner shall not shorten voting hours for any 6 election if there is filed in the commissioner’s office, at 7 least twenty-five days before the election, a petition signed 8 by at least fifty eligible electors of the school district 9 or city, as the case may be, requesting that the polls be 10 opened not later than 7:00 a.m. All polling places where the 11 candidates of or any public question submitted by any one 12 political subdivision are being voted upon shall be opened at 13 the same hour , except that this requirement shall not apply 14 to merged areas established under chapter 260C . The hours 15 at which the respective precinct polling places are to open 16 shall not be changed after publication of the notice required 17 by section 49.53 . The polling places shall be closed at 9:00 18 p.m. for state primary and general elections and other partisan 19 elections, and for any other election held concurrently 20 therewith, and at 8:00 p.m. for all other elections. 21 Sec. 32. Section 50.11, Code 2016, is amended to read as 22 follows: 23 50.11 Proclamation of result. 24 1. When the canvass is completed one of the precinct 25 election officials shall publicly announce the total number of 26 votes received by each of the persons voted for, the office for 27 which the person is designated, as announced by the designated 28 tally keepers, and the number of votes for, and the number of 29 votes against, any proposition which shall have been submitted 30 to a vote of the people. A precinct election official shall 31 communicate the election results by telephone or in person to 32 the commissioner who is conducting the election immediately 33 upon completion of the canvass. 34 2. Election results may be transmitted electronically from 35 -13- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 13/ 29

H.F. 2406 voting equipment to the commissioner’s office only after the 1 precinct election officials have produced a written report of 2 the election results. The devices used for the electronic 3 transmission of election results shall be approved for use 4 by the board of examiners pursuant to section 52.41 . The 5 state commissioner of elections shall adopt rules establishing 6 procedures for the electronic transmission of election results. 7 3. The commissioner shall remain on duty until such 8 information is communicated to the commissioner from each 9 polling place in the commissioner’s county. For an election 10 for a political subdivision that is located in more than one 11 county, the commissioner shall, if applicable, communicate that 12 county’s election results for the political subdivision to 13 the controlling commissioner for that political subdivision, 14 under section 47.2 and the controlling commissioner shall 15 remain on duty until such information is communicated to 16 the controlling commissioner from each commissioner for the 17 political subdivision. 18 Sec. 33. Section 50.24, Code 2016, is amended by adding the 19 following new subsections: 20 NEW SUBSECTION . 3A. For a regular or special city election 21 or a city runoff election, if the city is located in more than 22 one county, the controlling commissioner for that city under 23 section 47.2 shall conduct a second canvass on the second 24 Monday or Tuesday after the day of the election. However, if a 25 recount is requested pursuant to section 50.48, the controlling 26 commissioner shall conduct the second canvass within two 27 business days after the conclusion of the recount proceedings. 28 Each commissioner conducting a canvass for the city pursuant 29 to subsection 1 shall transmit abstracts for the offices and 30 public measures of that city to the controlling commissioner 31 for that city, along with individual tallies for each write-in 32 candidate. At the second canvass, the county board of 33 supervisors of the county of the controlling commissioner shall 34 canvass the abstracts received pursuant to this subsection and 35 -14- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 14/ 29

H.F. 2406 shall prepare a combined city abstract stating the number of 1 votes cast in the city for each office and on each question on 2 the ballot for the city election. The combined city abstract 3 shall further indicate the name of each person who received 4 votes for each office on the ballot, the number of votes each 5 person named received for that office, and the number of votes 6 for and against each question submitted to the voters at the 7 election. The votes of all write-in candidates who each 8 received less than five percent of the total votes cast in the 9 city for an office shall be reported collectively under the 10 heading “scattering”. 11 NEW SUBSECTION . 3B. a. For a regular or special school 12 election, if the school district is located in more than one 13 county, the controlling commissioner for that school district 14 under section 47.2 shall conduct a second canvass on the second 15 Monday or Tuesday after the day of election. However, if a 16 recount is requested pursuant to section 50.48, the controlling 17 commissioner shall conduct the second canvass within two 18 business days after the conclusion of the recount proceedings. 19 Each commissioner conducting a canvass for the school district 20 pursuant to subsection 1 shall transmit abstracts for the 21 offices and public measures of that school district to the 22 controlling commissioner for that school district, along with 23 individual tallies for each write-in candidate. At the second 24 canvass the county board of supervisors of the controlling 25 county shall canvass the abstracts received pursuant to 26 this subsection and shall prepare a combined school district 27 abstract stating the number of votes cast in the school 28 district for each office and on each question on the ballot for 29 the school election. The combined school district abstract 30 shall further indicate the name of each person who received 31 votes for each office on the ballot, the number of votes each 32 person named received for that office, and the number of votes 33 for and against each question submitted to the voters at the 34 election. The votes of all write-in candidates who each 35 -15- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 15/ 29

H.F. 2406 received less than five percent of the total votes cast in the 1 school district for an office shall be reported collectively 2 under the heading “scattering”. 3 b. The second canvass of votes for a merged area shall be 4 conducted pursuant to section 260C.15, subsection 5, and each 5 commissioner conducting a canvass for the merged area pursuant 6 to subsection 1 shall transmit abstracts for the offices and 7 public measures of that school district to the controlling 8 commissioner for that merged area, along with individual 9 tallies for each write-in candidate. 10 Sec. 34. Section 50.48, subsection 1, paragraph a, 11 unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2016, is amended to read as 12 follows: 13 The county board of canvassers shall order a recount of the 14 votes cast for a particular office or nomination in one or 15 more specified election precincts in that county if a written 16 request therefor for a recount is made not later than 5:00 p.m. 17 on the third day following the county board’s canvass of the 18 election in question. For a city runoff election held pursuant 19 to section 376.9, the written request must be made not later 20 than 5:00 p.m. on the day following the county board’s canvass 21 of the city runoff election. The request shall be filed with 22 the commissioner of that county , or with the commissioner 23 responsible for conducting the election if section 47.2, 24 subsection 2 , is applicable, and shall be signed by either of 25 the following: 26 Sec. 35. Section 52.25, subsection 2, paragraph b, Code 27 2016, is amended to read as follows: 28 b. In the case of a public question to be voted on in 29 a political subdivision lying in more than one county, the 30 summary shall be worded by the controlling commissioner 31 responsible under section 47.2 for conducting that election. 32 Sec. 36. Section 53.40, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 33 2016, is amended to read as follows: 34 a. A request in writing for a ballot may be made by any 35 -16- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 16/ 29

H.F. 2406 member of the armed forces of the United States who is or 1 will be a qualified voter on the day of the election at which 2 the ballot is to be cast, at any time before the election. 3 Any member of the armed forces of the United States may 4 request ballots for all elections to be held during a calendar 5 year. The request may be made by using the federal postcard 6 application form and indicating that the applicant wishes to 7 receive ballots for all elections as permitted by state law. 8 If the applicant does not specify which elections the request 9 is for, the county commissioner shall send the applicant a 10 ballot for each federal election held after the application 11 is received until the end of the calendar year in which the 12 request is received. If the applicant requests ballots for all 13 elections to be held in a calendar year, the commissioner, if 14 necessary, shall forward a copy of the absentee ballot request 15 to other commissioners who are responsible under section 47.2, 16 subsection 2 , for conducting elections in which the applicant 17 is eligible to vote. 18 Sec. 37. Section 260C.12, subsection 1, Code 2016, is 19 amended to read as follows: 20 1. The board of directors of the merged area shall organize 21 at the first regular meeting in October December following the 22 regular school election. Organization of the board shall be 23 effected by the election of a president and other officers from 24 the board membership as board members determine. The board 25 of directors shall appoint a secretary and a treasurer who 26 shall each give bond as prescribed in section 291.2 and who 27 shall each receive the salary determined by the board. The 28 secretary and treasurer shall perform duties under chapter 291 29 and additional duties the board of directors deems necessary. 30 However, the board may appoint one person to serve as the 31 secretary and treasurer. If one person serves as the secretary 32 and treasurer, only one bond is necessary for that person. The 33 frequency of meetings other than organizational meetings shall 34 be as determined by the board of directors but the president 35 -17- LSB 5604HV (4) 86 aw/sc 17/ 29