SF 271 (LSB 2204XS (4) 90)

SENATE FILE 271

BY  JOCHUM

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the conduct of elections, including the recounting of ballots, the mailing of absentee ballots, and in-person absentee voting.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 50.48, subsection 3, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  a.  The recount shall be conducted or overseen by a board which shall consist of one of the following:
   (1)  For a county with a population of fewer than twenty-five thousand:
   (1)  (a)  A designee Two designees of the candidate requesting the recount, who shall be named in the written request when it is filed.
   (2)  (b)  A designee 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.
   (3)  (c)  A person chosen jointly by the members designated under subparagraphs (1) subparagraph divisions (a) and (2) (b).
   (2)  For a county with a population of at least twenty-five thousand but less than ninety thousand:
   (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)  A person chosen jointly by the members designated under subparagraph divisions (a) and (b).
   (3)  For a county with a population of ninety thousand or greater:
   (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), paragraph “a”, subparagraph (2), subparagraph divisions (a) and (b), or paragraph “a”, 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. 2.  Section 50.48, subsection 4, paragraphs a and c, Code 2023, 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 as expeditiously as reasonably possible.  The recount board may conduct the recount or may direct the county commissioner and the county commissioner’s staff to conduct the recount. The recount board shall oversee any recount conducted by the county commissioner and the county commissioner’s staff. 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 or county commissioner shall open only the sealed ballot containers from the precincts specified to be recounted in the request or by the recount board. The board or county commissioner 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 The recount board may request the commissioner to retabulate the ballots using the automatic tabulating equipment on a per precinct basis, and the recount board shall visually examine each ballot that the automatic tabulating equipment identifies as containing an undervote, an overvote, or a write-in vote to determine voter intent. 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.
   c.  The ballots shall be resealed by the recount board or county commissioner 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. 3.  Section 53.8, subsection 1, paragraph a, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   Upon receipt of an application for an absentee ballot and immediately after the absentee ballots are printed, but not more than twenty forty-five days before the election, the commissioner shall mail an absentee ballot to the applicant within twenty-four hours, except as otherwise provided in subsection 3. The absentee ballot shall be sent to the registered voter by one of the following methods:
    Sec. 4.  Section 53.10, subsection 1, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  Not more than twenty forty-five days before the date of the primary election or the general election, the commissioner shall provide facilities for absentee voting in person at the commissioner’s office. This service shall also be provided for other elections as soon as the ballots are ready, but in no case shall absentee ballots be available under this section more than twenty forty-five days before an election.
    Sec. 5.  Section 53.11, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Not more than twenty forty-five days before the date of an election, satellite absentee voting stations shall be established upon receipt of a petition signed by not less than one hundred eligible electors requesting that a satellite absentee voting station be established at a location to be described on the petition. However, if a special election is scheduled in the county on a date that falls between the date of the regular city election and the date of the city runoff election, the commissioner is not required to establish a satellite absentee voting station for the city runoff election.
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 recounting of ballots, the mailing of absentee ballots, and in-person absentee voting.
   The ballot changes the size of a recount board based on the population of the county. For a county with a population of fewer than 25,000, the bill requires a recount board to consist of two designees of each contestant and one person agreed upon by the designees. For a county with a population of at least 25,000 but less than 90,000, the bill requires a recount board to consist of three designees of each contestant and one person agreed upon by the designees. For a county with a population of 90,000 or greater, 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 allows the recount board to direct the county commissioner or the county commissioner’s staff to conduct a recount. The board requires the recount board to oversee any recount conducted by the county commissioner or the county commissioner’s staff.
   The bill allows a recount to be conducted on a per precinct basis using automatic tabulating equipment. The bill requires the recount board to visually examine each ballot that the equipment identifies as containing an undervote, an overvote, or a write-in vote to determine voter intent.
   The bill allows a county commissioner of elections to begin the mailing of absentee ballots starting 45 days before an election. The bill also allows in-person absentee voting at a county commissioner’s office or at a satellite location to begin 45 days before an election.