S.F. 339 Section 1. Section 53.8, subsection 1, paragraph a, 1 unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2017, is amended to read as 2 follows: 3 Upon receipt of an application for an absentee ballot and 4 immediately after the absentee ballots are printed, but not 5 more than fifteen days before the election, the commissioner 6 shall mail an absentee ballot to the applicant within 7 twenty-four hours, except as otherwise provided in subsection 8 3 . The absentee ballot shall be sent to the registered voter 9 by one of the following methods: 10 Sec. 2. Section 53.8, subsection 3, paragraph b, Code 2017, 11 is amended to read as follows: 12 b. (1) If the application is received more than five days 13 before the ballots are printed and the commissioner has elected 14 to have the ballots personally delivered during the ten-day 15 period after the ballots are printed, the commissioner shall 16 mail to the applicant within twenty-four hours a letter in 17 substantially the following form: 18 Your application for an absentee ballot for the election 19 to be held on ...... has been received. This ballot will 20 be personally delivered to you by a bipartisan team sometime 21 during the ten days after the ballots are printed. If you will 22 not be at the address from which your application was sent 23 during any or all of the ten-day period immediately following 24 the printing of the ballots, the ballot will be personally 25 delivered to you sometime during the fourteen days preceding 26 the election. If you will not be at the address from which 27 your application was sent during either of these time periods, 28 contact this office and arrangements will be made to have your 29 absentee ballot delivered at a time when you will be present at 30 that address. 31 (2) If the application is received more than fourteen 32 fifteen calendar days before the election and the commissioner 33 has not elected to mail absentee ballots to applicants as 34 provided under section 53.22, subsection 3 , and has not elected 35 -1- LSB 1977XS (4) 87 aw/sc/jh 1/ 5

S.F. 339 to have the absentee ballots personally delivered during the 1 ten-day period after the ballots are printed, the commissioner 2 shall mail to the applicant within twenty-four hours a letter 3 in substantially the following form: 4 Your application for an absentee ballot for the election 5 to be held on ...... has been received. This ballot will 6 be personally delivered to you by a bipartisan team sometime 7 during the fourteen fifteen days preceding the election. If 8 you will not be at the address from which your application 9 was sent during any or all of the fourteen-day period fifteen 10 calendar days immediately preceding the election, contact this 11 office and arrangements will be made to have your absentee 12 ballot delivered at a time when you will be present at that 13 address. 14 Sec. 3. Section 53.10, subsection 1, Code 2017, is amended 15 to read as follows: 16 1. Not more than forty fifteen days before the date of the 17 primary election or the general election, the commissioner 18 shall provide facilities for absentee voting in person at the 19 commissioner’s office. This service shall also be provided 20 for other elections as soon as the ballots are ready, but in 21 no case shall absentee ballots be available under this section 22 more than forty fifteen days before an election. 23 Sec. 4. Section 53.11, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2017, 24 is amended to read as follows: 25 a. Satellite Not more than fifteen days before the date 26 of an election, satellite absentee voting stations may be 27 established throughout the cities and county at the direction 28 of the commissioner and shall be established upon receipt 29 of a petition signed by not less than one hundred eligible 30 electors requesting that a satellite absentee voting station 31 be established at a location to be described on the petition. 32 However, if a special election is scheduled in the county on a 33 date that falls between the date of the regular city election 34 and the date of the city runoff election, the commissioner is 35 -2- LSB 1977XS (4) 87 aw/sc/jh 2/ 5

S.F. 339 not required to establish a satellite absentee voting station 1 for the city runoff election. 2 Sec. 5. Section 53.22, subsection 1, paragraph a, 3 subparagraph (1), Code 2017, is amended to read as follows: 4 (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 by two special precinct election 10 officers, one of whom shall be a member of each of the 11 political parties referred to in section 49.13 , who shall be 12 appointed by the commissioner from the election board panel 13 for the special precinct established by section 53.20 . The 14 special precinct election officers shall be sworn in the manner 15 provided by section 49.75 for election board members, shall 16 receive compensation as provided in section 49.20 , and shall 17 perform their duties during the ten calendar days after the 18 ballots are printed if the commissioner so elects, during the 19 fourteen fifteen calendar days preceding the election, and 20 on election day if all ballots requested under section 53.8, 21 subsection 3 , have not previously been delivered and returned. 22 Sec. 6. Section 53.22, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code 2017, 23 is amended to read as follows: 24 b. If an applicant under this subsection notifies the 25 commissioner that the applicant will not be available at the 26 health care facility or hospital address at any time during the 27 ten-day period after the ballots are printed, if applicable, 28 or during the fourteen-day period fifteen calendar days 29 immediately prior to the election, but will be available there 30 at some other time prior to the election or on election day, 31 the commissioner shall direct the two special precinct election 32 officers to deliver the applicant’s ballot at an appropriate 33 time preceding the election or on election day. If a person 34 who so requested an absentee ballot has been dismissed from 35 -3- LSB 1977XS (4) 87 aw/sc/jh 3/ 5

S.F. 339 the health care facility or hospital, the special precinct 1 election officers may take the ballot to the voter if the voter 2 is currently residing in the county. 3 Sec. 7. Section 53.39, subsection 2, Code 2017, is amended 4 to read as follows: 5 2. All official ballots to be voted by qualified absent 6 voters in the armed forces of the United States at the primary 7 election and the general election shall be printed prior to 8 forty-five sixty days before the respective elections and 9 shall be available for transmittal to such qualified voters 10 in the armed forces of the United States at least forty-five 11 sixty days before the respective elections. The provisions of 12 this chapter apply to absent voting by qualified voters in the 13 armed forces of the United States except as modified by the 14 provisions of this subchapter . 15 Sec. 8. Section 53.40, subsection 2, Code 2017, is amended 16 to read as follows: 17 2. The commissioner shall immediately on the forty-fifth 18 sixtieth day prior to the particular election transmit ballots 19 to the voter by mail or otherwise, postage prepaid, as directed 20 by the state commissioner, requests for which are in the 21 commissioner’s hands at that time, and thereafter so transmit 22 ballots immediately upon receipt of requests. A request for 23 ballot for the primary election which does not state the party 24 affiliation of the voter making the request is void and of no 25 effect. A request which does not show that the person for whom 26 a ballot is requested will be a qualified voter in the precinct 27 in which the ballot is to be cast on the day of the election for 28 which the ballot is requested, shall not be honored. However, 29 a request which states the age and the city, including street 30 address, and county where the voter resides is sufficient to 31 show that the person is a qualified voter. A request by the 32 voter containing substantially the information required is 33 sufficient. 34 Sec. 9. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to elections held 35 -4- LSB 1977XS (4) 87 aw/sc/jh 4/ 5

S.F. 339 on or after January 1, 2018. 1 EXPLANATION 2 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 3 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 4 This bill relates to the number of days before an election 5 that a county commissioner of elections is permitted to make 6 absentee ballots available to voters. 7 Under current law, absentee ballot applications may be 8 submitted not more than 70 days before an election, and a 9 county commissioner is required to mail absentee ballots 10 immediately after printing or within 24 hours of receiving an 11 application for such a ballot. The bill maintains the 70-day 12 application period under current law, but prohibits a county 13 commissioner from mailing an absentee ballot more than 15 days 14 before an election. 15 Under current law, a registered voter may vote an absentee 16 ballot in person at a satellite absentee voting station or 17 the county commissioner’s office not more than 40 days before 18 an election. Under the bill, a registered voter may vote 19 an absentee ballot in person not more than 15 days before 20 an election. The bill also requires that special precinct 21 election officers deliver ballots to residents or patients in a 22 health care facility or hospital during the 15 calendar days 23 immediately prior to an election. 24 Under current law, absentee ballots for military and 25 overseas voters must be printed prior to 45 days before the 26 election and the ballots for requests received are to be mailed 27 beginning with the 45th day before the election. The bill 28 changes these time periods to 60 days. 29 The bill applies to elections held on or after January 1, 30 2018. 31 -5- LSB 1977XS (4) 87 aw/sc/jh 5/ 5