HF 2019 (LSB 5616YH (4) 91)

HOUSE FILE 2019

BY  INGELS

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to nominations for election to school district offices.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 44.9, subsections 2, 3, and 5, Code 2026, are amended to read as follows:
   2.  In the office of the appropriate commissioner, at least seventy-four days before the date of the election, except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, 5, or 6.
   3.  In the office of the appropriate school board secretary commissioner in case of a regularly scheduled school election, at least forty-two days before the day of a regularly scheduled school election.
   5.  In the office of the appropriate commissioner or school board secretary in case of a special election to fill vacancies, at least twenty-five days before the day of election.
    Sec. 2.  Section 44.11, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   44.11  Vacancies filled.
   If a candidate named under this chapter withdraws or dies before the deadline established in section 44.9, declines a nomination, or if a certificate of nomination is held insufficient or inoperative by the officer with whom it is required to be filed, or in case any objection made to a certificate of nomination, or to the eligibility of any candidate named in the certificate, is sustained by the board appointed to determine such questions, the vacancy or vacancies may be filled by the convention, or caucus, or in such manner as such convention or caucus has previously provided. The vacancy or vacancies shall be filled not less than seventy-six days before the election in the case of nominations required to be filed with the state commissioner, not less than sixty-nine days before the election in the case of nominations required to be filed with the commissioner, not less than forty-two days before the election in the case of nominations required to be filed in the office of the school board secretary with the commissioner for school elections, and not less than forty-two days before the election in the case of nominations required to be filed with the commissioner for city elections.
    Sec. 3.  Section 275.25, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  The election shall be conducted as provided in section 277.3, and nomination petitions shall be filed pursuant to section 277.4, except as otherwise provided in this subsection. Nomination petitions shall be filed with the secretary of the board of the existing school district in which the candidate resides county commissioner of elections described in paragraph “a” not less than twenty-eight days before the date set for the special school election. The secretary of the board county commissioner of elections, or the secretary’s commissioner’s designee, shall be present in the secretary’s commissioner’s office until 5:00 p.m. on the final day to file the nomination papers. The nomination papers shall be delivered to the commissioner no later than 5:00 p.m. on the twenty-seventh day before the election If a county commissioner of elections who is not the commissioner described in paragraph “a” receives nomination papers, the county commissioner of elections shall immediately transfer the nomination papers to the commissioner described in paragraph “a”.
    Sec. 4.  Section 277.4, subsections 1, 3, and 4, Code 2026, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  Nomination papers for all candidates for election to office in each school district shall be filed with the secretary of the school board county commissioner of elections not more than seventy-one days nor less than forty-seven days before the election. Nomination petitions shall be filed not later than 5:00 p.m. on the last day for filing. If the school board secretary is not readily available during normal office hours, the secretary may designate a full-time employee of the school district who is ordinarily available to accept nomination papers under this section. On the final date for filing nomination papers, the office of the school secretary county commissioner of elections shall remain open until 5:00 p.m.  If a county commissioner of elections who is not the controlling commissioner pursuant to section 47.2, subsection 2, receives nomination papers, the county commissioner of elections shall immediately transfer the nomination papers to the controlling commissioner.
   3.  The secretary of the school board county commissioner of elections shall accept the petition for filing if on its face it appears to have the requisite number of signatures and if it is timely filed. The secretary of the school board county commissioner of elections shall note upon each petition and affidavit accepted for filing the date and time that the petition was filed. The secretary of the school board shall deliver all nomination petitions, together with the complete text of any public measure being submitted by the board to the electorate, to the county commissioner of elections on the day following the last day on which nomination petitions can be filed, and not later than 12:00 noon on that day.
   4.  Any person on whose behalf nomination petitions have been filed under this section may withdraw as a candidate by filing a signed statement to that effect with the secretary county commissioner of elections consistent with section 44.9.
    Sec. 5.  Section 277.5, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   277.5  Objections to nominations.
   1.  Objections to the legal sufficiency of a nomination petition or to the eligibility of a candidate may be filed by any person who would have the right to vote for a candidate for the office in question. The objection must be filed with the secretary of the school board county commissioner of elections at least forty-two days before the day of the school election. When objections are filed, notice shall forthwith be given to the candidate affected, addressed to the candidate’s place of residence as given on the candidate’s affidavit, stating that objections have been made to the legal sufficiency of the petition or to the eligibility of the candidate, and also stating the time and place the objections will be considered.
   2.  Objections shall be considered not later than two working days following the receipt of the objections by the president of the school board, the secretary of the school board, and one additional member of the school board chosen by ballot. If objections have been filed to the nominations of either of those school officials, that official shall not pass on the objection. The official’s place shall be filled by a member of the school board against whom no objection exists. The replacement shall be chosen by ballot three elected county officers appointed by the chairperson of the county board of supervisors.
    Sec. 6.  Section 277.7, subsection 2, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  Petitions which have been accepted for filing are valid unless written objections are filed. Objections must be filed with the secretary of the school board within five working days after the petition was filed. The objection process in section 277.5 shall be followed for objections filed pursuant to this section Objections shall be considered not later than two working days following the receipt of the objections by the president of the school board, the secretary of the school board, and one additional member of the school board chosen by ballot.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill requires nomination petitions for election to a school district office to be filed with the county commissioner of elections instead of with the secretary of the school board. If a county commissioner of elections who is not the controlling commissioner for an election in a school district that spans multiple counties receives a nomination petition, the bill requires the county commissioner of elections to immediately transfer the nomination petition to the controlling commissioner. The bill also requires objections to and withdrawals of nominations to be filed with the county commissioner of elections and changes the board for considering objections to consist of three elected county officers appointed by the chairperson of the board of supervisors. The bill makes conforming changes, including to keep the process for objections to petitions for public measures in a school district unchanged from current law.