H.F. 2019 Section 1. Section 44.9, subsections 2, 3, and 5, Code 2026, 1 are amended to read as follows: 2 2. In the office of the appropriate commissioner, at least 3 seventy-four days before the date of the election, except as 4 otherwise provided in subsection 3, 5, or 6 . 5 3. In the office of the appropriate school board secretary 6 commissioner in case of a regularly scheduled school election , 7 at least forty-two days before the day of a regularly scheduled 8 school election. 9 5. In the office of the appropriate commissioner or 10 school board secretary in case of a special election to 11 fill vacancies, at least twenty-five days before the day of 12 election. 13 Sec. 2. Section 44.11, Code 2026, is amended to read as 14 follows: 15 44.11 Vacancies filled. 16 If a candidate named under this chapter withdraws or dies 17 before the deadline established in section 44.9 , declines 18 a nomination, or if a certificate of nomination is held 19 insufficient or inoperative by the officer with whom it 20 is required to be filed, or in case any objection made to 21 a certificate of nomination, or to the eligibility of any 22 candidate named in the certificate, is sustained by the board 23 appointed to determine such questions, the vacancy or vacancies 24 may be filled by the convention, or caucus, or in such manner 25 as such convention or caucus has previously provided. The 26 vacancy or vacancies shall be filled not less than seventy-six 27 days before the election in the case of nominations required to 28 be filed with the state commissioner, not less than sixty-nine 29 days before the election in the case of nominations required to 30 be filed with the commissioner, not less than forty-two days 31 before the election in the case of nominations required to be 32 filed in the office of the school board secretary with the 33 commissioner for school elections , and not less than forty-two 34 days before the election in the case of nominations required to 35 -1- LSB 5616YH (4) 91 ss/ns 1/ 5

H.F. 2019 be filed with the commissioner for city elections. 1 Sec. 3. Section 275.25, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code 2 2026, is amended to read as follows: 3 b. The election shall be conducted as provided in section 4 277.3 , and nomination petitions shall be filed pursuant to 5 section 277.4 , except as otherwise provided in this subsection . 6 Nomination petitions shall be filed with the secretary of the 7 board of the existing school district in which the candidate 8 resides county commissioner of elections described in paragraph 9 “a” not less than twenty-eight days before the date set for the 10 special school election. The secretary of the board county 11 commissioner of elections , or the secretary’s commissioner’s 12 designee, shall be present in the secretary’s commissioner’s 13 office until 5:00 p.m. on the final day to file the nomination 14 papers. The nomination papers shall be delivered to the 15 commissioner no later than 5:00 p.m. on the twenty-seventh day 16 before the election If a county commissioner of elections who 17 is not the commissioner described in paragraph “a” receives 18 nomination papers, the county commissioner of elections shall 19 immediately transfer the nomination papers to the commissioner 20 described in paragraph “a” . 21 Sec. 4. Section 277.4, subsections 1, 3, and 4, Code 2026, 22 are amended to read as follows: 23 1. Nomination papers for all candidates for election 24 to office in each school district shall be filed with the 25 secretary of the school board county commissioner of elections 26 not more than seventy-one days nor less than forty-seven days 27 before the election. Nomination petitions shall be filed 28 not later than 5:00 p.m. on the last day for filing. If the 29 school board secretary is not readily available during normal 30 office hours, the secretary may designate a full-time employee 31 of the school district who is ordinarily available to accept 32 nomination papers under this section . On the final date for 33 filing nomination papers , the office of the school secretary 34 county commissioner of elections shall remain open until 5:00 35 -2- LSB 5616YH (4) 91 ss/ns 2/ 5

H.F. 2019 p.m. If a county commissioner of elections who is not the 1 controlling commissioner pursuant to section 47.2, subsection 2 2, receives nomination papers, the county commissioner of 3 elections shall immediately transfer the nomination papers to 4 the controlling commissioner. 5 3. The secretary of the school board county commissioner 6 of elections shall accept the petition for filing if on its 7 face it appears to have the requisite number of signatures 8 and if it is timely filed. The secretary of the school board 9 county commissioner of elections shall note upon each petition 10 and affidavit accepted for filing the date and time that the 11 petition was filed. The secretary of the school board shall 12 deliver all nomination petitions, together with the complete 13 text of any public measure being submitted by the board to the 14 electorate , to the county commissioner of elections on the day 15 following the last day on which nomination petitions can be 16 filed, and not later than 12:00 noon on that day. 17 4. Any person on whose behalf nomination petitions have been 18 filed under this section may withdraw as a candidate by filing 19 a signed statement to that effect with the secretary county 20 commissioner of elections consistent with section 44.9 . 21 Sec. 5. Section 277.5, Code 2026, is amended to read as 22 follows: 23 277.5 Objections to nominations. 24 1. Objections to the legal sufficiency of a nomination 25 petition or to the eligibility of a candidate may be filed by 26 any person who would have the right to vote for a candidate for 27 the office in question. The objection must be filed with the 28 secretary of the school board county commissioner of elections 29 at least forty-two days before the day of the school election. 30 When objections are filed , notice shall forthwith be given to 31 the candidate affected, addressed to the candidate’s place 32 of residence as given on the candidate’s affidavit, stating 33 that objections have been made to the legal sufficiency of 34 the petition or to the eligibility of the candidate, and also 35 -3- LSB 5616YH (4) 91 ss/ns 3/ 5

H.F. 2019 stating the time and place the objections will be considered. 1 2. Objections shall be considered not later than two working 2 days following the receipt of the objections by the president 3 of the school board, the secretary of the school board, and 4 one additional member of the school board chosen by ballot. 5 If objections have been filed to the nominations of either of 6 those school officials, that official shall not pass on the 7 objection. The official’s place shall be filled by a member 8 of the school board against whom no objection exists. The 9 replacement shall be chosen by ballot three elected county 10 officers appointed by the chairperson of the county board of 11 supervisors . 12 Sec. 6. Section 277.7, subsection 2, Code 2026, is amended 13 to read as follows: 14 2. Petitions which have been accepted for filing are valid 15 unless written objections are filed. Objections must be filed 16 with the secretary of the school board within five working 17 days after the petition was filed. The objection process in 18 section 277.5 shall be followed for objections filed pursuant 19 to this section Objections shall be considered not later than 20 two working days following the receipt of the objections by 21 the president of the school board, the secretary of the school 22 board, and one additional member of the school board chosen by 23 ballot . 24 EXPLANATION 25 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 26 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 27 This bill requires nomination petitions for election to a 28 school district office to be filed with the county commissioner 29 of elections instead of with the secretary of the school 30 board. If a county commissioner of elections who is not the 31 controlling commissioner for an election in a school district 32 that spans multiple counties receives a nomination petition, 33 the bill requires the county commissioner of elections 34 to immediately transfer the nomination petition to the 35 -4- LSB 5616YH (4) 91 ss/ns 4/ 5

H.F. 2019 controlling commissioner. The bill also requires objections 1 to and withdrawals of nominations to be filed with the county 2 commissioner of elections and changes the board for considering 3 objections to consist of three elected county officers 4 appointed by the chairperson of the board of supervisors. The 5 bill makes conforming changes, including to keep the process 6 for objections to petitions for public measures in a school 7 district unchanged from current law. 8 -5- LSB 5616YH (4) 91 ss/ns 5/ 5