Senate Joint Resolution 4 - Introduced SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 4 BY J. TAYLOR SENA TE JOINT RESOLUTION A Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution 1 of the State of Iowa relating to elections for the recall of 2 elected officials. 3 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1378XS (3) 90 ss/ns

S.J.R. 4 Section 1. The following amendment to the Constitution of 1 the State of Iowa is proposed: 2 Article II of the Constitution of the State of Iowa is 3 amended by adding the following new section: 4 Sec. 8. Recall elections. 5 1. The qualified electors of the state, a legislative 6 district, or a county may petition for the recall of an 7 incumbent elected official after the first year of the term for 8 which the incumbent was elected by filing a petition with the 9 official with whom the nomination petition to the office was 10 filed demanding the recall of the incumbent. 11 a. The recall petition must be signed by electors equaling 12 at least twenty-five percent of the votes cast for the office 13 of governor at the last preceding election in the state, 14 county, or district which the incumbent represents. 15 b. The official with whom the recall petition is filed shall 16 call a recall election for the Tuesday of the sixth week after 17 the date of filing the petition or, if that Tuesday is a legal 18 holiday, on the first day after that Tuesday which is not a 19 legal holiday. 20 c. The incumbent shall continue to perform the duties of 21 the office until the recall election results are officially 22 declared. 23 d. Unless the incumbent declines within ten days after the 24 filing of the petition, the incumbent shall without filing 25 be deemed to have filed a nomination petition for the recall 26 primary or election, as applicable. Other candidates may 27 file for the office in the manner provided by law for special 28 elections. For the purpose of conducting elections under this 29 section: 30 (1) When more than two persons compete for a nonpartisan 31 office, a recall primary shall be held. The two persons 32 receiving the highest number of votes in the recall primary 33 shall be the two candidates in the recall election, except that 34 if any candidate receives a majority of the total number of 35 -1- LSB 1378XS (3) 90 ss/ns 1/ 3

S.J.R. 4 votes cast in the recall primary, that candidate shall assume 1 the office for the remainder of the term and a recall election 2 shall not be held. 3 (2) For a partisan office, a recall primary shall be held 4 for each political party, as defined by law, from which more 5 than one candidate competes for the party’s nomination in the 6 recall election. The person receiving the highest number of 7 votes in the recall primary for each political party shall be 8 that party’s candidate in the recall election. Independent 9 candidates and candidates representing nonparty political 10 organizations shall be shown on the ballot for the recall 11 election only. 12 (3) When a recall primary is required, the date specified 13 under paragraph “b” shall be the date of the recall primary and 14 the recall election shall be held on the Tuesday of the fourth 15 week after the recall primary or, if that Tuesday is a legal 16 holiday, on the first day after that Tuesday which is not a 17 legal holiday. 18 e. The person who receives the highest number of votes in 19 the recall election shall be elected for the remainder of the 20 term. 21 f. After one petition and recall election pursuant to this 22 section, no further recall petition shall be filed against the 23 same officer during the term for which the officer was elected. 24 2. The general assembly may enact laws to implement this 25 section. 26 Sec. 2. REFERRAL AND PUBLICATION. The foregoing proposed 27 amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa is referred 28 to the general assembly to be chosen at the next general 29 election for members of the general assembly, and shall be 30 published as provided by law for three consecutive months 31 previous to the date of that election. 32 EXPLANATION 33 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 34 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 35 -2- LSB 1378XS (3) 90 ss/ns 2/ 3

S.J.R. 4 This joint resolution proposes an amendment to the 1 Constitution of the State of Iowa relating to recall elections 2 for elected officials. The amendment allows the electors of 3 the state, a legislative district, or a county to call for 4 the recall of an elected official after the first year of the 5 elected official’s term. The amendment requires the electors 6 to submit a petition signed by electors equaling at least 25 7 percent of the votes cast for the office of governor in the 8 last preceding election in the relevant area. Upon receipt of 9 the petition, the official with whom nomination petitions for 10 the office are filed shall call a recall election on the sixth 11 Tuesday following filing of the petition. The incumbent shall 12 continue to perform the incumbent’s duties until the results of 13 the recall election are officially declared. 14 Unless the incumbent declines within 10 days, the incumbent 15 shall be deemed to have filed to participate in the election. 16 The amendment provides for recall primary elections when more 17 than two persons file to compete in a recall election for a 18 nonpartisan office and for each recall election for a partisan 19 office. In a recall primary for a nonpartisan office, if one 20 candidate receives a majority of the total number of votes 21 cast, that candidate shall assume the office and a recall 22 election shall not be held. Otherwise, whichever candidate 23 receives the highest number of votes in a recall election shall 24 be elected for the remainder of the original incumbent’s term. 25 The amendment prohibits more than one recall election from 26 being called against a given elected official in a single term. 27 The resolution, if adopted, would be published and then 28 referred to the next general assembly (91st) for adoption, 29 before being submitted to the electorate for ratification. 30 -3- LSB 1378XS (3) 90 ss/ns 3/ 3