S.F. _____ Section 1. Section 47.1, subsection 2, Code 2021, is amended 1 to read as follows: 2 2. a. The state commissioner of elections may exercise 3 emergency powers over any election being held in a district in 4 which either a natural or other disaster or extremely inclement 5 weather has occurred within fifteen days of the election . 6 The state commissioner’s decision to alter any conduct for 7 an election using emergency powers must be approved by the 8 legislative council. If the legislative council does not 9 approve the secretary of state’s use of emergency powers to 10 conduct an election, the legislative council may choose to 11 present and approve its own election procedures or choose to 12 take no further action. The state commissioner of elections 13 may also exercise emergency powers during an armed conflict 14 involving United States armed forces, or mobilization of those 15 forces, or if an election contest court finds that there were 16 errors in the conduct of an election making it impossible to 17 determine the result. The state commissioner of elections 18 shall exercise emergency powers as provided in section 47.12. 19 b. If an emergency exists in all precincts of a county, 20 the number of polling places shall not be reduced by more 21 than thirty-five percent. The polling places allowed to open 22 shall be equitably distributed in the county based on the 23 ratio of regular polling places located in unincorporated 24 areas in the county to regular polling places in incorporated 25 areas in the county. The general assembly may, by concurrent 26 resolution, rescind an emergency declaratory order. If the 27 general assembly is not in session, the legislative council 28 may, by a majority vote, rescind the emergency declaratory 29 order. Rescission shall be effective upon filing of the 30 concurrent resolution or vote of the legislative council with 31 the secretary of state. 32 Sec. 2. Section 47.1, subsection 4, Code 2021, is amended by 33 striking the subsection. 34 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 47.12 Emergency election procedures. 35 -1- LSB 1733XC (6) 89 ss/jh 1/ 9

S.F. _____ 1. For purposes of this section: 1 a. “Election contest court” means any of the courts 2 specified in sections 57.1, 58.4, 61.1, 62.1A, and 376.10. 3 b. “Extremely inclement weather” means a natural occurrence, 4 such as a rainstorm, windstorm, ice storm, blizzard, tornado, 5 or other weather conditions, that makes travel extremely 6 dangerous, that threatens the public health and safety, or that 7 damages and destroys public and private property. 8 c. “Natural disaster” means a natural occurrence, such 9 as a fire, flood, blizzard, earthquake, tornado, windstorm, 10 ice storm, or other events, that threatens the public health 11 and safety or that damages and destroys public and private 12 property. 13 d. “Other disaster” means an occurrence caused by machines 14 or people, such as fire, hazardous substance, or nuclear power 15 plant accident or incident, that threatens the public health 16 and safety or that damages and destroys public and private 17 property. 18 2. The county commissioner of elections, or the county 19 commissioner’s designee, may notify the state commissioner 20 that due to a natural or other disaster or extremely inclement 21 weather an election cannot safely be conducted in the time 22 or place for which the election is scheduled to be held. If 23 the county commissioner or the county commissioner’s designee 24 is unable to transmit notice of the hazardous conditions, 25 the notice may be given by any elected county official. 26 Verification of the county commissioner’s agreement with the 27 severity of the conditions and the danger to the election 28 process shall be transmitted to the state commissioner as soon 29 as possible. Notice may be given by telephone or electronic 30 mail, but a signed notice shall also be delivered to the state 31 commissioner. 32 3. After receiving notice of hazardous conditions, the 33 state commissioner, or the state commissioner’s designee, may 34 declare that an emergency exists in the affected precinct or 35 -2- LSB 1733XC (6) 89 ss/jh 2/ 9

S.F. _____ precincts. A copy of the declaration of the emergency shall 1 be provided to the county commissioner and posted on the 2 internet site for both the state commissioner and the county 3 commissioner. 4 4. a. When the state commissioner has declared that an 5 emergency exists due to a natural or other disaster or to 6 extremely inclement weather, the county commissioner, or the 7 county commissioner’s designee, shall consult with the state 8 commissioner to develop a plan to conduct the election under 9 the emergency conditions. 10 b. Modifications may be made to the method for conducting 11 the election including relocation of polling places, 12 postponement of the hour of opening the polls, postponement of 13 the date of the election if no candidates for federal offices 14 are on the ballot, reduction in the number of precinct election 15 officials in nonpartisan elections, or other reasonable and 16 prudent modifications that will permit the election to be 17 conducted, but no modifications shall be made to requirements 18 for voter identification and absentee ballot request 19 and delivery. All modifications to the usual method for 20 conducting elections shall be approved in advance by the state 21 commissioner unless prior approval is impossible to obtain. 22 5. If an emergency exists in all precincts of a county, 23 the number of polling places shall not be reduced by more than 24 thirty-five percent. The polling places allowed to open shall 25 be equitably distributed in the county based on the ratio of 26 regular polling places located in unincorporated areas in the 27 county to regular polling places in incorporated areas in the 28 county. 29 6. a. A substitute polling place shall be as close as 30 possible to the originally designated polling place and shall 31 be within the same precinct if possible. Preference shall 32 be given to buildings that are accessible to the elderly and 33 disabled. Public buildings shall be made available without 34 charge by the authorities responsible for their administration. 35 -3- LSB 1733XC (6) 89 ss/jh 3/ 9

S.F. _____ If necessary, more than one precinct may be located in the same 1 room. 2 b. A notice of the location of the substitute polling place 3 shall comply with the requirements of section 49.23. If it 4 is unsafe or impossible to post the sign on the door of the 5 former polling place, the notice shall be posted in some other 6 visible place at or near the site of the former polling place. 7 The county commissioner shall inform all broadcast media and 8 print news organizations serving the jurisdiction of the 9 modifications and publish a notice on the county commissioner’s 10 internet site. 11 7. An election, other than an election at which a federal 12 office appears on the ballot, may be postponed until the 13 following Tuesday. If the election involves more than one 14 precinct, the postponement must include all precincts within 15 the political subdivision. If the election is postponed, 16 ballots shall not be reprinted to reflect the modification in 17 the election date. The date of the close of voter registration 18 by mail for the election shall not be extended. Precinct 19 election registers prepared for the original election date may 20 be used or reprinted at the commissioner’s discretion. Except 21 as provided in this section, a postponed election shall be 22 conducted in the same manner as an election taking place on the 23 regularly scheduled election day. 24 8. a. Absentee ballots shall be delivered to voters 25 pursuant to section 53.22 until the date the election is 26 actually held. Absentee ballots shall be accepted at the 27 commissioner’s office until the hour the polls close on the 28 date the election is held. Absentee ballots that bear a 29 barcode traceable to a date of entry into the federal mail 30 system no later than the day before the election is actually 31 held shall be accepted if received no later than the length of 32 time prescribed for the usual conduct of the election. The 33 time shall be calculated from the date on which the election 34 is held, not the date for which the election was originally 35 -4- LSB 1733XC (6) 89 ss/jh 4/ 9

S.F. _____ scheduled. 1 b. If absentee ballots have been tabulated before the 2 election is postponed, the absentee ballots shall be sealed in 3 an envelope by the absentee and special voters precinct board 4 and stored securely until the date the election is actually 5 held. The sealed envelopes shall be opened by the absentee 6 and special voters precinct board on the date the election is 7 actually held, counters on the tabulating equipment, if any, 8 shall be reset to zero, and all absentee ballots tabulated on 9 the original election date shall be retabulated. 10 9. The absentee and special voters precinct board shall 11 meet to consider provisional ballots at the times specified in 12 sections 50.22 and 52.23, calculated from the date the election 13 is held. No absentee ballots shall be counted until the date 14 the election is held. 15 10. The canvass of votes shall be rescheduled for one week 16 after the originally scheduled canvass date. 17 11. a. If the emergency is declared while the polls are 18 open and the decision is made to postpone the election, each 19 precinct polling place in the political subdivision shall be 20 notified to close its doors and to halt all voting immediately. 21 People present in the polling place who are waiting to vote 22 shall not be given ballots. People who have received and 23 marked their ballots shall deposit them in the ballot box. 24 Unmarked ballots shall be returned to the precinct election 25 officials. 26 b. The precinct election officials shall seal all ballots 27 that were cast before the declaration of the emergency in 28 secure containers. The containers shall be clearly marked as 29 ballots from the postponed election. If it is safe to do so, 30 the ballot containers, election register, and other election 31 supplies shall be transported to the county commissioner’s 32 office. The ballots shall be stored in a secure place. If 33 it is unsafe to travel to the county commissioner’s office, 34 the chairperson of the precinct election board shall securely 35 -5- LSB 1733XC (6) 89 ss/jh 5/ 9

S.F. _____ store the ballots and the election register until it is safe 1 to return the ballots and election register to the county 2 commissioner. If no contest is pending six months after the 3 canvass for the election is completed, the unopened, sealed 4 ballot containers shall be destroyed. 5 c. If automatic tabulating equipment is used, the automatic 6 tabulating equipment shall be closed and sealed without 7 printing the results. Before the date the election is held, 8 the automatic tabulating equipment shall be reset to zero. 9 Documents showing the progress of the count, if any, shall be 10 sealed in an envelope and stored. No person shall reveal the 11 progress of the count. After six months, the sealed envelope 12 containing the vote totals shall be destroyed if no contest is 13 pending. 14 12. The state commissioner shall maintain records of each 15 emergency declaration. The records of emergency declarations 16 for federal elections shall be kept for twenty-two months 17 and records for all other elections shall be kept for six 18 months following the election. The records shall include the 19 following information: 20 a. The county in which the emergency occurred. 21 b. The date and time the emergency declaration was 22 requested. 23 c. The name and title of the person making the request. 24 d. The name and date of the election affected. 25 e. The jurisdiction for which the election is to be 26 conducted. 27 f. The number of precincts in the jurisdiction. 28 g. The number of precincts affected by the emergency. 29 h. The nature of the emergency. 30 i. The date or dates of the occurrence of the natural or 31 other disaster or extremely inclement weather. 32 j. The conditions affecting the conduct of the election. 33 k. Whether the polling places may safely be opened on time. 34 l. Any action taken such as but not limited to moving the 35 -6- LSB 1733XC (6) 89 ss/jh 6/ 9

S.F. _____ polling place, changing the voting system, or postponing the 1 election until the following Tuesday. 2 m. The method to be used to inform the public of changes 3 made in the election procedure. 4 n. The signature of the state commissioner or the state 5 commissioner’s designee who was responsible for declaring the 6 emergency. 7 13. a. (1) If an emergency occurs that will adversely 8 affect the conduct of an election at which candidates for 9 federal office will appear on the ballot, the election shall 10 not be postponed or delayed. Emergency measures shall be 11 limited to relocation of polling places, modification of 12 the method of voting not including requirements for voter 13 identification and absentee ballot request and delivery, 14 reduction of the number of precinct election officials at 15 a precinct, and other modifications of prescribed election 16 procedures that will enable the election to be conducted on the 17 date and during the hours required by law. 18 (2) The primary election held in June of even-numbered years 19 and the general election held in November of even-numbered 20 years shall not be postponed. Special elections called by 21 the governor pursuant to section 69.14 shall not be postponed 22 unless no federal office appears on the ballot. 23 b. If a federal or state court order extends the time 24 established for closing the polls pursuant to section 49.73, 25 any person who votes after the statutory hour for closing the 26 polls shall vote only by casting a provisional ballot pursuant 27 to section 49.81. Provisional ballots cast after the statutory 28 hour for closing the polls shall be sealed in a separate 29 envelope from provisional ballots cast during the statutory 30 polling hours. The absentee and special voters precinct board 31 shall tabulate and report the results of the two sets of 32 provisional ballots separately. 33 14. A voter who is entitled to vote by absentee ballot under 34 the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 35 -7- LSB 1733XC (6) 89 ss/jh 7/ 9

S.F. _____ Act, 42 U.S.C. §1973ff et seq., and the provisions set forth 1 in chapter 53, subchapter II, may return an absentee ballot 2 via electronic transmission only if the voter is located in an 3 area designated by the federal department of defense to be an 4 imminent danger pay area or if the voter is an active member of 5 the army, navy, marine corps, merchant marine, coast guard, air 6 force, or Iowa national guard and is located outside the United 7 States or any of its territories. Procedures for the return of 8 absentee ballots by electronic transmission shall be determined 9 by the state commissioner by rule. 10 15. a. If an election contest court finds that there were 11 errors in the conduct of an election that make it impossible 12 to determine the result of the election, the contest court 13 shall notify the state commissioner of its finding. The state 14 commissioner shall order a repeat election to be held. The 15 repeat election date shall be set by the state commissioner. 16 The repeat election shall be conducted under the state 17 commissioner’s supervision. 18 b. The repeat election shall be held at the earliest 19 possible time, but it shall not be held earlier than fourteen 20 days after the date the election was set aside. Voter 21 registration, publication, equipment testing, and other 22 applicable deadlines shall be calculated from the date of the 23 repeat election. 24 c. The repeat election shall be conducted under the same 25 procedures required for the election that was set aside, 26 except that all known errors in preparation and procedure 27 shall be corrected. The nominations from the initial election 28 shall be used in the repeat election unless the contest court 29 specifically rejects the initial nomination process in its 30 findings. Precinct election officials for the repeat election 31 may be replaced at the discretion of the auditor. 32 d. The following materials prepared for the original 33 election shall be used or reconstructed for the repeat 34 election: 35 -8- LSB 1733XC (6) 89 ss/jh 8/ 9

S.F. _____ (1) Ballots showing the date of repeat election, which may 1 be stamped on ballots printed for the original election. 2 (2) Notice of election showing the date of repeat election. 3 EXPLANATION 4 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 5 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 6 This bill relates to the conduct of elections during 7 emergencies. 8 The bill repeals the requirement that an exercise of 9 emergency powers by the state commissioner of elections be 10 approved by the legislative council prior to taking effect. 11 The bill allows the general assembly, or the legislative 12 council if the general assembly is not in session, to rescind 13 an emergency declaratory order. 14 The bill includes certain requirements that the state 15 commissioner of elections must meet in exercising emergency 16 powers, including those relating to polling places, the dates 17 of elections, the counting of ballots, and the contesting of 18 elections. The bill allows the state commissioner of elections 19 to call for a repeat election if an election contest court 20 determines that errors prevent the outcome of an election from 21 being determined accurately. 22 -9- LSB 1733XC (6) 89 ss/jh 9/ 9