House File 56 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 56 BY NUNN A BILL FOR An Act lowering the age at which a person may register to vote 1 and including effective date provisions. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 1895YH (3) 87 aw/sc

H.F. 56 Section 1. Section 48A.5, subsection 2, paragraph c, Code 1 2017, is amended to read as follows: 2 c. (1) 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 the registration shall not be effective until the registrant 6 reaches the age of eighteen. The commissioner of registration 7 shall ensure that the birth date shown on the registration form 8 is at least seventeen and one-half sixteen years earlier than 9 the date the registration is processed. 10 (2) A registrant who is at least seventeen and one-half 11 years of age and who will be eighteen by the date of a pending 12 election is a registered voter for the pending election for 13 purposes of chapter 53 . 14 Sec. 2. Section 48A.11, subsection 3, Code 2017, is amended 15 to read as follows: 16 3. The following questions and statement regarding 17 eligibility shall be included on forms that may be used for 18 registration by mail: 19 [1] “Are you a citizen of the United States of America?” 20 [2] “Will you be eighteen “Are you at least sixteen years of 21 age on or before election day?” age?” 22 [3] “If you checked ‘no’ in response to either of these 23 questions, do not complete this form.” 24 Sec. 3. Section 48A.14, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code 25 2017, is amended to read as follows: 26 b. The challenged registrant is less than seventeen and 27 one-half sixteen years of age. 28 Sec. 4. Section 48A.23, subsection 1, Code 2017, is amended 29 to read as follows: 30 1. At least twice during each school year, the board of 31 directors of each school district operating a high school and 32 the authorities in charge of each accredited nonpublic school 33 shall offer the opportunity to register to vote to each student 34 who is at least seventeen and one-half sixteen years of age. 35 -1- LSB 1895YH (3) 87 aw/sc 1/ 3

H.F. 56 Sec. 5. Section 48A.26, subsection 9, Code 2017, is amended 1 to read as follows: 2 9. When a person who is at least seventeen and one-half 3 sixteen years of age but less than eighteen years of age 4 registers to vote, the commissioner shall maintain a record of 5 the registration so as to clearly indicate that it will not 6 take effect until the registrant’s eighteenth birthday and that 7 the person is registered and qualifies to vote at any election 8 held on or after that date. 9 Sec. 6. Section 48A.31, Code 2017, is amended to read as 10 follows: 11 48A.31 Deceased persons record. 12 The state registrar of vital statistics shall transmit 13 or cause to be transmitted to the state registrar of voters, 14 once each calendar quarter, a certified list of all persons 15 seventeen and one-half sixteen years of age and older in 16 the state whose deaths have been reported to the bureau of 17 vital records of the Iowa department of public health since 18 the previous list of decedents was certified to the state 19 registrar of voters. The list shall be submitted according 20 to the specifications of the state registrar of voters. The 21 commissioner shall, in the month following the end of a 22 calendar quarter, run the statewide voter registration system’s 23 matching program to determine whether a listed decedent was 24 registered to vote in the county and shall immediately cancel 25 the registration of any person named on the list of decedents. 26 Sec. 7. Section 280.9A, subsection 3, Code 2017, is amended 27 to read as follows: 28 3. At least twice during each school year, the board of 29 directors of each local public school district operating a 30 high school and the authorities in charge of each accredited 31 nonpublic school operating a high school shall offer the 32 opportunity to register to vote to each student who is at least 33 seventeen and one-half sixteen years of age, as required by 34 section 48A.23 . 35 -2- LSB 1895YH (3) 87 aw/sc 2/ 3

H.F. 56 Sec. 8. Section 602.8102, subsection 15, Code 2017, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 15. Monthly, notify the county commissioner of registration 3 and the state registrar of voters of persons seventeen and 4 one-half sixteen years of age and older who have been convicted 5 of a felony during the preceding calendar month or persons 6 who at any time during the preceding calendar month have been 7 legally declared to be a person who is incompetent to vote as 8 that term is defined in section 48A.2 . 9 Sec. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect January 1, 10 2018. 11 EXPLANATION 12 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 13 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 14 This bill relates to voter registration and voting. 15 Current law allows an eligible elector who is at least 17 and 16 one-half years of age to register to vote. The bill allows an 17 otherwise eligible elector to register to vote at the age of 18 16. The bill makes additional conforming changes. 19 The bill takes effect January 1, 2018. 20 -3- LSB 1895YH (3) 87 aw/sc 3/ 3