Senate File 348 - Introduced SENATE FILE 348 BY BOLKCOM A BILL FOR An Act requiring that elections for the offices of senator 1 and representative to Congress, governor and lieutenant 2 governor, and senator and representative in the general 3 assembly be conducted by ranked-choice voting in the general 4 and primary elections and including effective date and 5 applicability provisions. 6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 7 TLSB 2020XS (7) 87 aw/jh/sc

S.F. 348 Section 1. Section 39.3, Code 2017, is amended by adding the 1 following new subsections: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 8A. “Office elected by ranked-choice 3 voting” means the offices of senator and representative to 4 Congress, governor and lieutenant governor, and senator and 5 representative in the general assembly, and includes nomination 6 to such offices by primary election. 7 NEW SUBSECTION . 10A. “Ranked-choice voting” means the 8 method of casting and tabulating votes in which voters rank 9 candidates in order of preference and tabulation proceeds in 10 sequential rounds in which last-place candidates are removed 11 from further rounds of tabulation until a winner is declared. 12 Sec. 2. Section 43.45, subsection 1, Code 2017, is amended 13 to read as follows: 14 1. Upon the closing of the polls the precinct election 15 officials shall immediately publicly canvass the vote. The 16 precinct election official shall canvass the vote for an office 17 elected by ranked-choice voting according to rules adopted by 18 the state commissioner pursuant to section 50.36A. The canvass 19 shall be conducted using the procedures established in this 20 section which are appropriate for the voting system used in the 21 precinct. 22 Sec. 3. Section 43.49, Code 2017, is amended by adding the 23 following new subsection: 24 NEW SUBSECTION . 1A. The board of supervisors shall 25 canvass the vote for an office elected by ranked-choice voting 26 according to rules adopted by the state commissioner pursuant 27 to section 50.36A. 28 Sec. 4. Section 43.63, Code 2017, is amended to read as 29 follows: 30 43.63 Canvass by state board. 31 1. Upon receipt of the abstracts of votes from the counties, 32 the secretary of state shall immediately open the envelopes 33 and canvass the results for all offices. The secretary of 34 state shall invite to attend the canvass one representative 35 -1- LSB 2020XS (7) 87 aw/jh/sc 1/ 10

S.F. 348 from each political party which, at the last preceding general 1 election, cast for its candidate for president of the United 2 States or for governor, as the case may be, at least two 3 percent of the total vote cast for all candidates for that 4 office at that election, as determined by the secretary of 5 state. The secretary of state shall notify the chairperson 6 of each political party of the time of the canvass. However, 7 the presence of a representative from a political party is not 8 necessary for the canvass to proceed. 9 2. Not later than the twenty-seventh day after the primary 10 election, the secretary of state shall present to the state 11 board of canvassers abstracts showing the number of ballots 12 cast by each political party for each office and a summary of 13 the results for each office, showing the votes cast in each 14 county and the tabulation of votes for each office elected by 15 ranked-choice voting . The state board of canvassers shall 16 review the results compiled by the secretary of state and, if 17 the results are accurately tabulated, the state board shall 18 approve the canvass. 19 Sec. 5. Section 43.65, Code 2017, is amended to read as 20 follows: 21 43.65 Who nominated. 22 1. The candidate of each political party for nomination for 23 each office to be filled by the voters of the entire state, and 24 for each seat in the United States senate, each seat in the 25 United States house of representatives, governor and lieutenant 26 governor, each seat in the Iowa house of representatives , 27 and each seat in the Iowa senate which is to be filled, who 28 receives the highest number of votes cast by the voters of that 29 party for that nomination , as determined under ranked-choice 30 voting, shall be the candidate of that party for that office 31 in the general election. 32 2. The candidate of each political party for nomination 33 for an office to be filled, other than the offices listed 34 in subsection 1, who receives the highest number of votes 35 -2- LSB 2020XS (7) 87 aw/jh/sc 2/ 10

S.F. 348 cast by the voters of that party for that nomination shall be 1 the candidate of that party for that office in the general 2 election. However, if there are more than two candidates for 3 any nomination and none of the candidates receives thirty-five 4 percent or more of the votes cast by voters of that party for 5 that nomination, the primary is inconclusive and the nomination 6 shall be made as provided by section 43.78, subsection 1 , 7 paragraph “a”, “b” or “c”, whichever is appropriate. 8 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 49.29 Ballot design for ranked-choice 9 voting. 10 The state commissioner shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 11 17A to provide for the design of ballots for an office elected 12 by ranked-choice voting. Under the rules, the ballot design 13 must be simple and easy to understand and allow a voter to rank 14 candidates for an office in order of preference and allow a 15 voter to include no more than one write-in candidate among that 16 voter’s ranked choices for each office. 17 Sec. 7. Section 49.31, subsection 4, Code 2017, is amended 18 to read as follows: 19 4. The Except for an office elected by ranked-choice voting, 20 the heading for each office on the ballot shall be immediately 21 followed by a notation stating, “Vote for no more than ... ”, 22 and indicating the maximum number of nominees or candidates for 23 that office for whom each elector may vote. 24 Sec. 8. Section 49.37, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2017, 25 is amended to read as follows: 26 a. Each political party or organization which has 27 nominated candidates for more than one office shall be listed. 28 Instructions to the voter for straight party or organization 29 voting shall be in substantially the following form: 30 To vote for all candidates from a single party or 31 organization as your only vote or as your highest-ranked vote, 32 as the case may be , mark the voting target next to the party 33 or organization name. Not all parties or organizations have 34 nominated candidates for all offices. Marking a straight party 35 -3- LSB 2020XS (7) 87 aw/jh/sc 3/ 10

S.F. 348 or organization vote does not include votes for nonpartisan 1 offices, judges, or questions. 2 Sec. 9. Section 49.93, Code 2017, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 49.93 Number of votes for each office. 5 For an office to which one person is to be elected, other 6 than an office elected by ranked-choice voting, a voter shall 7 not vote for more than one candidate. If two or more persons 8 are to be elected to an office, the voter shall vote for no more 9 than the number of persons to be elected. If a person votes for 10 more than the permitted number of candidates, the vote for that 11 office shall not count. Valid votes cast on the rest of the 12 ballot shall be counted. 13 Sec. 10. Section 49.94, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2017, 14 is amended to read as follows: 15 If all the candidates for whom a voter desires to vote as 16 the voter’s only vote in any election other than the primary 17 election , or as the voter’s highest-ranked vote for an office 18 elected by ranked-choice voting in any election, were nominated 19 by the same political party or nonparty political organization, 20 and the voter desires to vote for all candidates nominated by 21 that political party or organization, the voter may do so in 22 any one of the following ways: 23 Sec. 11. Section 50.1A, Code 2017, is amended to read as 24 follows: 25 50.1A Canvass by officials. 26 1. At every election conducted under chapter 49 , except 27 the primary election provided for by chapter 43 or any other 28 election for an office elected by ranked-choice voting , and at 29 every other election unless the law authorizing the election 30 otherwise requires, the vote shall be canvassed at each polling 31 place by the election board in the manner prescribed by this 32 chapter . When the poll is closed, the precinct election 33 officials shall forthwith, and without adjournment: 34 1. a. Publicly canvass the vote, and credit each candidate 35 -4- LSB 2020XS (7) 87 aw/jh/sc 4/ 10

S.F. 348 with the number of votes counted for the candidate. 1 2. b. Ascertain the result of the vote. 2 3. c. Prepare in writing a list of any apparently or 3 possibly erroneous information appearing in the precinct 4 election register. 5 4. d. Designate two election board members, not members 6 of the same political party, who shall each separately keep a 7 tally list of the count. 8 2. The precinct election officials shall canvass the vote 9 for an office elected by ranked-choice voting according to 10 rules adopted by the state commissioner pursuant to section 11 50.36A. 12 Sec. 12. Section 50.22, Code 2017, is amended to read as 13 follows: 14 50.22 Special precinct board to determine challenges and 15 canvass absentee ballots. 16 1. a. Upon being reconvened, the special precinct election 17 board shall review the information upon the envelopes bearing 18 the provisional ballots, and all evidence submitted in support 19 of or opposition to the right of each challenged person to vote 20 in the election. The board may divide itself into panels of 21 not less than three members each in order to hear and determine 22 two or more challenges simultaneously, but each panel shall 23 meet the requirements of section 49.12 as regards political 24 party affiliation of the members of each panel. 25 b. The decision to count or reject each ballot shall be 26 made upon the basis of the information given on the envelope 27 containing the provisional ballot, the evidence concerning 28 the challenge, the registration and the returned receipts of 29 registration. 30 2. If a provisional ballot is rejected, the person casting 31 the ballot shall be notified by the commissioner within ten 32 days of the reason for the rejection, on the form prescribed 33 by the state commissioner pursuant to section 53.25 , and the 34 envelope containing the provisional ballot shall be preserved 35 -5- LSB 2020XS (7) 87 aw/jh/sc 5/ 10

S.F. 348 unopened and disposed of in the same manner as spoiled ballots. 1 The provisional ballots which are accepted shall be counted 2 in the manner prescribed by section 53.23, subsection 5 . The 3 commissioner shall make public the number of provisional 4 ballots rejected and not counted, at the time of the canvass of 5 the election. 6 3. a. The special precinct board shall also canvass any 7 absentee ballots which were received after the polls closed 8 in accordance with section 53.17 . If necessary, they shall 9 reconvene again on the day of the canvass by the board of 10 supervisors to canvass any absentee ballots which were timely 11 received. The special precinct board shall submit their tally 12 list to the supervisors before the conclusion of the canvass 13 by the board. 14 b. The special precinct board shall canvass the vote for 15 an office elected by ranked-choice voting according to rules 16 adopted by the state commissioner pursuant to section 50.36A. 17 Sec. 13. Section 50.24, Code 2017, is amended by adding the 18 following new subsection: 19 NEW SUBSECTION . 1A. The board of supervisors shall 20 canvass the vote for an office elected by ranked-choice voting 21 according to rules adopted by the state commissioner. 22 Sec. 14. Section 50.25, subsection 1, Code 2017, is amended 23 to read as follows: 24 1. At the canvass of the general election, the abstract of 25 the votes for each of the following classes shall be made on a 26 different sheet , as provided for in rules adopted by the state 27 commissioner pursuant to section 50.36A : 28 a. President and vice president of the United States. 29 b. Senator in the Congress of the United States. 30 c. Representative in the Congress of the United States. 31 d. Governor and lieutenant governor. 32 e. A state officer not otherwise provided for. 33 f. Senator or representative in the general assembly by 34 districts. 35 -6- LSB 2020XS (7) 87 aw/jh/sc 6/ 10

S.F. 348 Sec. 15. NEW SECTION . 50.36A Offices elected by 1 ranked-choice voting —— determination of winner. 2 1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise 3 indicates, the following terms have the following meanings: 4 a. “Batch elimination” means the simultaneous removal from 5 further rounds of tabulation of multiple candidates for whom it 6 is mathematically impossible to be elected. 7 b. “Continuing ballot” means a ballot that is not an 8 exhausted ballot. 9 c. “Continuing candidate” means a candidate who has not been 10 removed from further rounds of tabulation. 11 d. “Exhausted ballot” means a ballot that does not rank 12 any continuing candidate, contains an overvote at the highest 13 continuing ranking, or contains two or more sequential skipped 14 rankings before its highest continuing ranking. 15 e. “Highest continuing ranking” means the highest ranking on 16 a voter’s ballot for a continuing candidate. 17 f. “Last-place candidate” means the candidate with the 18 fewest votes in a round of the ranked-choice voting tabulation. 19 g. “Mathematically impossible to be elected” , with respect to 20 a candidate, means either of the following: 21 (1) The candidate cannot be elected because the candidate’s 22 vote total in a round of the ranked-choice voting tabulation 23 plus all votes that could possibly be transferred to the 24 candidate in future rounds from candidates with fewer votes or 25 an equal number of votes would not be enough to surpass the 26 candidate with the next highest vote total in the round. 27 (2) The candidate has a lower vote total than a candidate 28 described in subparagraph (1). 29 h. “Overvote” means a circumstance in which a voter has 30 ranked more than one candidate for the same office with the 31 same ranking number. 32 i. “Ranking” means the number assigned on a ballot by a 33 voter to a candidate to express the voter’s preference for that 34 candidate, with ranking number one being the highest ranking. 35 -7- LSB 2020XS (7) 87 aw/jh/sc 7/ 10

S.F. 348 j. “Round” means an instance of the sequence of voting 1 tabulation steps established in subsection 2. 2 k. “Skipped ranking” means a circumstance in which a voter 3 omits a ranking number and subsequently ranks a candidate using 4 a lower ranking number than the ranking number omitted. 5 2. Except as provided in subsections 3 and 4, the procedures 6 in this subsection shall be used to determine the winner in 7 an election for an office elected by ranked-choice voting. 8 Tabulation shall proceed in rounds. In each round, the number 9 of votes for each continuing candidate shall be counted. Each 10 continuing ballot counts as one vote for its highest-ranked 11 continuing candidate for that round. Exhausted ballots shall 12 not be counted for any continuing candidate. If there are 13 more than two continuing candidates, the last-place candidate 14 is removed from further rounds of tabulation and a new round 15 begins. If there are two or fewer continuing candidates, 16 the tabulation ends and the candidate with the most votes is 17 declared the winner of the election. 18 3. If a voter has marked a voting target next to the name 19 of a political party or nonparty political organization in 20 the straight party or organization section of the ballot, the 21 candidate of that party or organization shall be considered 22 the voter’s highest ranking of a candidate, unless the voter 23 indicates on the voter’s ballot a different intent under a 24 particular office. 25 4. A tie under this section between candidates for the 26 most votes in the final round of tabulation or a tie between 27 last-place candidates in any round of tabulation shall be 28 decided by lot, and the candidate chosen by lot is removed from 29 further rounds of tabulation. The result of the tie resolution 30 must be recorded in the event of a recount. 31 5. Modification of a ranked-choice voting ballot and 32 tabulation is permitted in accordance with the following: 33 a. The number of allowable rankings may be limited to no 34 fewer than six. 35 -8- LSB 2020XS (7) 87 aw/jh/sc 8/ 10

S.F. 348 b. Two or more candidates may be removed from further rounds 1 of tabulation by batch elimination in any round of tabulation. 2 6. The state commissioner shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 chapter 17A to provide for the tallying, canvassing, and 4 tabulation of ballots for an office elected by ranked-choice 5 voting. 6 Sec. 16. Section 50.39, Code 2017, is amended to read as 7 follows: 8 50.39 Abstract. 9 The state board of canvassers shall make an abstract stating 10 the number of ballots cast for each office, the names of all 11 the persons voted for, for what office, the number of votes 12 each received by ranked-choice voting or otherwise , and whom 13 the state board of canvassers declares to be elected, and if a 14 public question has been submitted to the voters of the state, 15 the number of ballots cast for and against the question and 16 a declaration of the result as determined by the canvassers ; 17 which . The abstract shall be signed by the canvassers in their 18 official capacity and as state canvassers, and have the seal of 19 the state affixed. 20 Sec. 17. Section 53.20, subsection 1, Code 2017, is amended 21 to read as follows: 22 1. There is established in each county a special precinct to 23 be known as the absentee ballot and special voters precinct. 24 Its jurisdiction shall be conterminous with the borders of the 25 county, for the purposes specified by sections 53.22 and 53.23 , 26 and the requirement that precincts not cross the boundaries 27 of legislative districts shall not be applicable to it. The 28 commissioner shall draw up an election board panel for the 29 special precinct in the manner prescribed by section 49.15 , 30 having due regard for the nature and extent of the duties 31 required of members of the election board and the election 32 officers to be appointed from the panel, including, if directed 33 by the commissioner, the tallying and recording of write-in 34 votes. A special precinct election board shall tally and 35 -9- LSB 2020XS (7) 87 aw/jh/sc 9/ 10

S.F. 348 record the votes for an office elected by ranked-choice voting 1 according to rules adopted by the state commissioner pursuant 2 to section 50.36A. 3 Sec. 18. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect January 1, 4 2018. 5 Sec. 19. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to elections held 6 on or after January 1, 2018. 7 EXPLANATION 8 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 9 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 10 This bill provides ranked-choice voting for the offices of 11 United States senator, United States representative, governor, 12 lieutenant governor, and senator and representative in the 13 general assembly for general and primary elections held on or 14 after January 1, 2018. Ranked-choice voting is a method of 15 casting and tabulating votes in which voters rank candidates 16 in order of preference, tabulation proceeds in rounds in which 17 last-place candidates are removed from further rounds of 18 tabulation, and the candidate with the most votes in the final 19 round is elected. 20 The bill requires the state commissioner of elections 21 (secretary of state) to adopt rules for the tallying, 22 canvassing, and tabulation of ballots for an office elected by 23 ranked-choice voting. The state commissioner of elections is 24 also required to provide, by rule, for the design of ballots 25 for an office elected by ranked-choice voting. 26 The bill takes effect January 1, 2018, and applies to 27 elections held on or after January 1, 2018. 28 -10- LSB 2020XS (7) 87 aw/jh/sc 10/ 10