HF 2354 (LSB 6092YH (3) 89)

HOUSE FILE 2354

BY  MASCHER, WINCKLER, COHOON, DONAHUE, NIELSEN, HUNTER, GJERDE, and WOLFE

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the conduct of elections, including the counting and recounting of ballots and the certification of results.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 49.98, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   49.98  Counting ballots.
   The ballots shall be counted according to the voters’ marks on them as provided in sections 49.92 and 49.93, and not otherwise. If, for any reason, it is impossible to determine from a ballot, as marked, the choice of the voter for any office, the vote for that office shall not be counted. A ballot shall be rejected if the voter used a mark to identify the voter’s ballot. The state commissioner shall, by rule adopted pursuant to chapter 17A, develop uniform definitions of what constitutes a vote.
    Sec. 2.  Section 50.24, subsection 3, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  The Not later than one week after convening, the board shall certify an election canvass summary report prepared by the commissioner. The election canvass summary report shall include the results of the election, including scatterings, overvotes, and undervotes, by precinct for each contest and public measure that appeared on the ballot of the election being canvassed. However, if paper ballots are used pursuant to section 49.26, the election canvass summary report shall not include overvotes and undervotes.
    Sec. 3.  Section 50.38, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   50.38  Time of state canvass.
   Not later than twenty-seven thirty-four days after the day of the election, the secretary of state shall present to the board of state canvassers abstracts of votes cast at the election showing the number of ballots cast for each office and a summary of the results for each office, showing the votes cast in each county. The state board of canvassers shall review the results compiled by the secretary of state and, if the results are accurately tabulated, the state board shall approve the canvass.
    Sec. 4.  Section 50.48, subsection 1, paragraph a, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   The county board of canvassers shall order a recount of the votes cast for a particular office or nomination in one or more specified each election precincts in that county precinct where a vote was cast for an office if a written request for a recount is made not later than 5:00 p.m. on the third day following the county board’s canvass of the election in question. For a city runoff election held pursuant to section 376.9, the written request must be made not later than 5:00 p.m. on the day following the county board’s canvass of the city runoff election. The request shall be filed with the commissioner of that county and shall be signed by either of the following:
    Sec. 5.  Section 50.48, subsection 1, Code 2022, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  c.  Immediately upon receipt of a request for a recount for an office filled by the electors of more than one county, the commissioner shall send a copy of the request to each commissioner of a county where a ballot for the office was cast, who shall conduct a recount as provided in this section. A candidate for an office filled by the electors of the entire state shall not be required to pay more than one bond for a recount.
    Sec. 6.  Section 50.48, subsection 3, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  a.  The recount shall be conducted by a board which shall consist of one of the following:
   (1)  For a county in which three thousand five hundred or fewer ballots were cast:
   (1)  (a)  A designee of the candidate requesting the recount, who shall be named in the written request when it is filed.
   (2)  (b)  A designee of the apparent winning candidate, who shall be named by that candidate at or before the time the board is required to convene.
   (3)  (c)  A person chosen jointly by the members designated under subparagraphs (1) subparagraph divisions (a) and (2) (b).
   (2)  For a county in which more than three thousand five hundred but not more than twelve thousand ballots were cast:
   (a)  Two designees of the candidate requesting the recount, who shall be named in the written request when it is filed.
   (b)  Two designees of the apparent winning candidate, who shall be named by that candidate at or before the time the board is required to convene.
   (c)  Two persons chosen jointly by the members designated under subparagraph divisions (a) and (b).
   (3)  For a county in which more than twelve thousand ballots were cast:
   (a)  Three designees of the candidate requesting the recount, who shall be named in the written request when it is filed.
   (b)  Three designees of the apparent winning candidate, who shall be named by that candidate at or before the time the board is required to convene.
   (c)  Three persons chosen jointly by the members designated under subparagraph divisions (a) and (b).
   b.  The commissioner shall convene the persons designated under paragraph “a”, subparagraphs subparagraph (1) and, subparagraph divisions (a) and (b), subparagraph (2), subparagraph divisions (a) and (b), or subparagraph (3), subparagraph divisions (a) and (b), not later than 9:00 a.m. on the seventh day following the county board’s canvass of the election in question. If those two members cannot agree on the third additional member or members by 8:00 a.m. on the ninth day following the canvass, they shall immediately so notify the chief judge of the judicial district in which the canvass is occurring, who shall appoint the third additional member or members not later than 5:00 p.m. on the eleventh day following the canvass.
    Sec. 7.  Section 50.48, subsection 4, paragraphs a and c, Code 2022, are amended to read as follows:
   a.  When all members of the recount board have been selected, the board shall undertake and complete the required recount by hand as expeditiously as reasonably possible. The commissioner or the commissioner’s designee shall supervise the handling of ballots to ensure that the ballots are protected from alteration or damage. The board shall open only the sealed ballot containers from the precincts specified to be recounted in the request or by the recount board. The board shall recount only the ballots which were voted and counted for the office in question, including any disputed ballots returned as required in section 50.5. If automatic tabulating equipment was used to count the ballots, the recount board may request the commissioner to retabulate the ballots using the automatic tabulating equipment. The same program used for tabulating the votes on election day shall be used at the recount unless the program is believed or known to be flawed.  The board shall presume that any mark in a voting target constitutes a vote for the candidate or public measure listed next to the target unless the board finds that the mark was made inadvertently or that the voter attempted to erase the mark.
   c.  The ballots shall be resealed by the recount board before adjournment and shall be preserved as required by section 50.12. At the conclusion of the recount, the recount board shall make and file with the commissioner a written report of its findings, which shall be signed by at least two two-thirds of the members of the recount board. The recount board shall complete the recount and file its report not later than the eighteenth day following the county board’s canvass of the election in question.
    Sec. 8.  Section 50.48, subsection 4, paragraph b, Code 2022, is amended by striking the paragraph.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the conduct of elections, including the counting and recounting of ballots and the certification of results. The bill strikes a provision of law making a ballot invalid if the voter placed an identifying mark on the ballot. The bill requires a county board of supervisors to certify the results of an election within one week after convening. The bill changes the date by which the secretary of state must certify an election from 27 days after the election to 34 days after the election.
   The bill requires all recounts of ballots cast for an office to include each precinct in which a ballot was cast for that office. If ballots were cast for the office in more than one county, the county commissioner of elections who receives a request for a recount shall immediately forward the request to each other county commissioner of elections of a county where a ballot was cast for that office, who shall conduct a recount for the office. A candidate for a statewide office shall not be required to pay more than one bond for a recount.
   The bill changes the size of a recount board based on the number of ballots cast in the election. For a county in which 3,500 or fewer ballots were cast, the bill requires a recount board to consist of one designee of each contestant and one person agreed upon by the designees. For a county in which at least 3,501 but not more than 12,000 ballots were cast, the bill requires a recount board to consist of two designees of each contestant and two persons agreed upon by the designees. For a county in which 12,001 ballots or more were cast, the bill requires a recount board to consist of three designees of each contestant and three persons agreed upon by the designees. The bill requires a report of a recount board to be signed by two-thirds of the members of the board.
   The bill strikes a provision allowing a recount board to use automatic tabulating equipment to retabulate ballots and requires a recount board to conduct each recount by hand. The bill also requires a recount board to presume that any mark in a voting target constitutes a vote for the candidate or public measure listed next to the target unless the board finds that the mark was made inadvertently or that the voter attempted to erase the mark.