HF 169 (LSB 1602YH (6) 90)

HOUSE FILE 169

BY  GOLDING

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the casting and canvassing of absentee ballots.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 9E.6, subsection 2, paragraph b, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  The program participant shall complete the ballot and return it to the state commissioner of elections, who shall review the ballot in the manner provided by sections 53.18 and 53.19 if the return envelope is received in the state commissioner’s office before the polls close on election day close of business on the day before the election or is clearly postmarked by an officially authorized postal service or bears a postal service barcode traceable to a date of entry into the federal mail system not later than the day before the election, as provided in section 53.17A. If the materials comply with the requirements of section 53.18, the materials shall be certified by the state commissioner of elections as the ballot of a program participant, and shall be forwarded to the appropriate county commissioner of elections for tabulation by the special voters precinct election board appointed pursuant to section 53.23.
    Sec. 2.  Section 50.22, subsection 4, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  The special precinct board shall also canvass any absentee ballots which were received after the polls closed close of business on the day before the election in accordance with section 53.17. If necessary, they shall reconvene again on the day of the canvass by the board of supervisors to canvass any absentee ballots which were timely received. The special precinct board shall submit their tally list to the supervisors before the conclusion of the canvass by the board.
    Sec. 3.  Section 50.24, subsection 2, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  Upon convening, the board shall open and canvass the tally lists and shall prepare abstracts stating the number of votes cast in the county, or in that portion of the county in which the election was held, for each office and on each question on the ballot for the election. The board shall contact the chairperson of the special precinct board before adjourning and include in the canvass any write-in votes tallied and recorded by the special precinct board or any absentee ballots which were received after the polls closed close of business on the day before the election in accordance with section 53.17 and which were canvassed by the special precinct board after election day. The abstract shall further indicate the name of each person who received votes for each office on the ballot, and the number of votes each person named received for that office, and the number of votes for and against each question submitted to the voters at the election. The votes of all write-in candidates who each received less than five percent of the votes cast for an office or who each received fewer than ten votes and was not determined to be elected shall be reported collectively under the heading “scattering”.
    Sec. 4.  Section 53.17, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  The sealed return envelope may be delivered by the registered voter, by the voter’s designee, or by the special precinct election officials designated pursuant to section 53.22, subsection 2, to the commissioner’s office no later than the time the polls are closed close of business on the day before election day. However, if delivered by the voter’s designee, the envelope shall be delivered within seventy-two hours of retrieving it from the voter or before the closing of the polls on election day, whichever is earlier.
    Sec. 5.  Section 53.17, subsection 1, paragraph c, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   The sealed return envelope may be delivered by a person not prohibited to collect and deliver a completed ballot pursuant to section 53.33 to a ballot drop box established by the commissioner no later than the time the polls are closed close of business on the day before election day. However, if delivered by the voter’s designee, the envelope shall be delivered within seventy-two hours of retrieving it from the voter or before the closing of the polls on election day, whichever is earlier. A commissioner is not required to establish a ballot drop box. A ballot drop box must meet all of the following requirements:
    Sec. 6.  Section 53.17, subsection 1, paragraph c, subparagraph (5), Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   (5)  A ballot drop box shall be available no sooner than the time that absentee ballots are allowed to be mailed pursuant to section 53.8. The ballot drop box shall be removed or restricted from accepting deliveries immediately upon the closure of polls close of business on the day before election day.
    Sec. 7.  Section 53.17, subsection 2, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  In order for the ballot to be counted, the return envelope must be received in the commissioner’s office before the polls close on election close of business on the day before election day.
    Sec. 8.  Section 53.17, subsection 4, paragraph f, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   f.  A statement that the completed absentee ballot will be delivered to the commissioner’s office within seventy-two hours of retrieving it from the voter or before the closing of the polls close of business on the day before election day, whichever is earlier, or that the completed absentee ballot will be mailed to the commissioner within seventy-two hours of retrieving it from the voter.
    Sec. 9.  Section 53.17A, subsection 3, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  a.  An absentee ballot received after the polls close of business on the day before election day but prior to the official canvass shall be counted if the commissioner determines that the ballot entered the federal mail system by the deadline specified in section 53.17 or 53.22. The date of entry of such an absentee ballot into the federal mail system shall only be verified as provided in paragraph “b”.
   b.  (1)  If the postmark indicates that the absentee ballot entered the federal mail system by the deadline specified in section 53.17 or 53.22, the ballot shall be included for canvass by the absentee and special voters precinct board.
   (2)  If the postmark is illegible, missing, or dated on or after election day, the commissioner shall attempt to verify the ballot’s date of entry into the federal mail system by querying the postal service barcode in the tracking information database. If the tracking information database indicates that the absentee ballot entered the federal mail system by the deadline specified in section 53.17 or 53.22, the ballot shall be included for canvass by the absentee and special voters precinct board. The commissioner shall provide a report to the absentee and special voters precinct board regarding the information available in the tracking information database.
   (3)  If there is a discrepancy between the date indicated by the postmark and the postal service barcode, the earlier of the two shall determine the date of entry of the absentee ballot into the federal mail system.
   (4)  (a)  If neither the postmark nor the postal service barcode indicates that the absentee ballot entered the federal mail system by the deadline specified in section 53.17 or 53.22, the absentee ballot shall be sent to the absentee and special voters precinct board pursuant to subparagraph division (b) with the numeric value assigned to the postal service barcode and a full report from the tracking information database.
   (b)  Up to five absentee and special voters precinct board members from each political party for partisan elections, or any two members of the board for nonpartisan elections, shall review the postal service barcode and tracking database information report of each absentee ballot submitted pursuant to subparagraph division (a) and certify that the tracking information database report corresponds to the absentee ballot by initialing the report and the absentee ballot envelope. If the board concludes that the postal service barcode and tracking information database report verify that the absentee ballot entered the federal mail system by the deadline specified in section 53.17 or 53.22, the ballot shall be counted. Otherwise, the ballot shall not be counted.
    Sec. 10.  Section 53.18, subsection 2, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  If the commissioner receives the return envelope containing the completed absentee ballot by 5:00 p.m. on the Saturday before the election for general elections and by 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before the election for all other elections, the commissioner shall review the affidavit marked on the return envelope, if applicable, for completeness or shall open the return envelope to review the affidavit for completeness. If the affidavit lacks the signature of the registered voter, the commissioner shall, within twenty-four hours of the receipt of the envelope, notify the voter of the deficiency and inform the voter that the voter may vote a replacement ballot as provided in subsection 3, cast a ballot as provided in section 53.19, subsection 3, or complete the affidavit in person at the office of the commissioner not later than the time polls close on election day close of business on the day before the election.
    Sec. 11.  Section 53.23, subsection 5, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  a.  The special precinct election board shall preserve the secrecy of all absentee and provisional ballots. After the affidavits on the envelopes have been reviewed and the qualifications of the persons casting the ballots have been determined, those that have been accepted for counting shall be opened. The ballots shall be removed from the affidavit envelopes or return envelopes marked with the affidavit, as applicable, without being unfolded or examined, and then shall be thoroughly intermingled, after which they shall be unfolded and tabulated. If secrecy folders or envelopes are used with provisional paper ballots, the ballots shall be removed from the secrecy folders after the ballots have been intermingled.
   b.  The board shall not tabulate absentee ballots in excess of the number reported received by the commissioner as of the close of business on the day before the election. This paragraph does not apply to a ballot cast pursuant to section 9E.6 or sections 53.37 through 53.53.
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 casting and canvassing of absentee ballots. The bill requires absentee ballots to be received in the office of the county commissioner of elections before the close of business on the day before the election. Under current law, absentee ballots must be received in the office of the county commissioner of elections by the time the polls close on election day. The bill does not amend the deadline under current law for the receipt of absentee ballots from confined persons.
   The bill prohibits the special precinct election board from tabulating absentee ballots in excess of the number reported received by the commissioner as of the close of business on the day before the election, except for ballots cast by participants in the address confidentiality program or uniformed and overseas citizens.