HF 290 (LSB 2034YH (4) 91)

HOUSE FILE 290

BY  TUREK

A BILL FOR

An Act providing for the registration of eligible electors upon review of electronic records received from state agencies, and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 48A.7, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   48A.7  Registration in person.
   An eligible elector may register to vote by appearing personally and completing a voter registration form at the office of the commissioner in the county in which the person resides, at a motor vehicle driver’s license station, including any county treasurer’s office that is participating in county issuance of driver’s licenses under chapter 321M, or at any voter registration agency. A For paper registration forms, a separate voter registration form shall be signed by each individual registrant.
    Sec. 2.  Section 48A.8, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  An eligible elector may request that a voter registration form be mailed to the elector. The completed form may be mailed or delivered by the registrant or the registrant’s designee to the commissioner in the county where the person resides or to the state commissioner of elections for a program participant, as provided in section 9E.6. A For paper registration forms, a separate voter registration form shall be signed by each individual registrant.
    Sec. 3.  Section 48A.18, subsections 1 and 3, Code 2025, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  Each state motor vehicle driver’s license application, including any renewal application or application for a nonoperator’s identification card, submitted to the office of driver services of the state department of transportation shall serve as an application for voter registration unless the commissioner of registration determines that the applicant is not an eligible elector or the applicant declines to register to vote after receiving notification under subsection 4A. A completed application or paper voter registration form submitted to the office of driver services of the state department of transportation shall be considered to update any previous voter registration by the registrant.
   3.  Information relating to the refusal decision of an applicant for a driver’s license to apply decline to register to vote shall not be used for any purpose other than voter registration.
    Sec. 4.  Section 48A.18, subsection 4, Code 2025, is amended by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
   4.  a.  The state voter registration commission shall establish schedules by which the department of transportation shall transmit to the state registrar of voters electronic records containing the legal name, age, residence, and citizenship information for, and the electronic signature of, each person submitting an application under this section.
   b.  The state voter registration commission shall establish schedules by which the state registrar of voters shall make accessible or transmit electronic records and electronic signatures received under paragraph “a” to the appropriate commissioner of registration.
   c.  The state voter registration commission shall establish schedules by which the department of transportation shall transmit any completed paper registration forms to the appropriate commissioner of registration.
   d.  The state commissioner of elections shall adopt rules, consistent with section 9E.6, for the registration of address confidentiality program participants.
   e.  The state voter registration commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to administer and interpret this section, including rules to establish electronic and paper forms and all procedures used by the office of driver services for voter registration purposes, rules to establish schedules for transmission of electronic records, electronic signatures, and completed paper voter registration forms, and rules and forms to decline being registered to vote.
    Sec. 5.  Section 48A.18, Code 2025, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  4A.  a.  (1)  Upon receiving the electronic record for, and electronic signature of, a person under subsection 4, the state registrar of voters shall transmit or otherwise make accessible the electronic record and electronic signature of the person to the commissioner of registration of the county where the person resides. Upon reviewing the electronic record received from the state registrar of voters, along with any other relevant information, the commissioner of registration shall determine if a person is an eligible elector of the county. If the commissioner determines that a person is an eligible elector of the county and is not registered to vote in that county, the commissioner shall notify the person of the separate processes to decline being registered to vote or to declare a political party affiliation.
   (2)  If the person is registered to vote in the county, the commissioner shall use the electronic record and information to update the person’s voter registration if appropriate.
   b.  If a person notified under paragraph “a” does not decline to be registered to vote within twenty-one calendar days after the commissioner of registration issues the notification, the person’s electronic record and electronic signature shall constitute a completed voter registration form under section 48A.11, and the commissioner of registration shall register the person to vote in that county. The commissioner shall send an acknowledgment pursuant to section 48A.26.
   c.  A commissioner of registration shall not add a person subject to registration under this subsection to a voter registration list until at least twenty-one calendar days after the commissioner has issued notification to the person as described in paragraph “a”. 
   d.  The electronic record and electronic signature, received under this subsection, of a person who does not qualify as an eligible elector shall not constitute a completed voter registration form under section 48A.11 and such a person’s application for a driver’s license or nonoperator’s identification card shall not be considered to be a voter registration application for purposes of section 39A.2, subsection 1, paragraph “a”. 
    Sec. 6.  Section 48A.19, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  d.  The department of education and all state offices that collect personal information sufficient to complete a voter registration, as determined by the state commissioner.
    Sec. 7.  Section 48A.19, subsection 4, paragraph a, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   The A voter registration agency that does not collect personal information sufficient to complete a voter registration application shall provide a form to applicants that includes all of the following:
    Sec. 8.  Section 48A.21, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   48A.21  Transmission of forms from agencies and driver’s license stations.

   1.  The state registrar of voters shall adopt administrative rules regulating the transmission of completed voter registration forms from voter registration agencies and from driver’s license stations, including county treasurer’s offices participating in county issuance of driver’s licenses under chapter 321M. All completed voter registration applications in the possession of a voter registration agency, a driver’s license station, or a county treasurer’s office that is participating in county issuance of driver’s licenses at 5:00 p.m. on the last workday of each week shall be transmitted to the location designated by the state registrar of voters by rule. Procedures or requirements for more frequent transmissions may be specified by rule.
   2.  a.  The state voter registration commission shall establish schedules by which the voter registration agencies pursuant to section 48A.19 that collect personal information sufficient to complete a voter registration application shall transmit to the state registrar of voters electronic records containing the legal name, age, residence, and citizenship information for, and the electronic signature of, each person providing personal information as described in this section.
   b.  The state voter registration commission shall establish schedules by which the state registrar of voters shall make accessible or transmit electronic records and electronic signatures received under paragraph “a” to the appropriate commissioner of registration.
   c.  The state voter registration commission shall establish schedules by which voter registration agencies shall transmit any completed paper registration forms to the appropriate commissioner of registration.
   d.  The state commissioner of elections shall adopt rules, consistent with section 9E.6, for the registration of address confidentiality program participants.
   e.  The state voter registration commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to administer and interpret this section, including rules to establish electronic and paper forms and all procedures used by voter registration agencies for voter registration purposes, rules to establish schedules for transmission of electronic records, electronic signatures, and completed paper voter registration forms, and rules and forms to decline being registered to vote.
   3.  a.  (1)  Upon receiving the electronic record for, and electronic signature of, a person under subsection 2, the state registrar of voters shall transmit or otherwise make accessible the electronic record and electronic signature of the person to the commissioner of registration of the county where the person resides. Upon reviewing the electronic record received from the state registrar of voters, along with any other relevant information, the commissioner of registration shall determine if a person is an eligible elector of the county. If the commissioner determines that a person is an eligible elector of the county and is not registered to vote in that county, the commissioner shall notify the person of the separate processes to decline being registered to vote or to declare a political party affiliation.
   (2)  If the person is registered to vote in the county, the commissioner shall use the electronic record and information to update the person’s voter registration if appropriate.
   b.  If a person notified under paragraph “a” does not decline to be registered to vote within twenty-one calendar days after the commissioner of registration issues the notification, the person’s electronic record and electronic signature shall constitute a completed voter registration form under section 48A.11, and the commissioner of registration shall register the person to vote in that county. The commissioner shall send an acknowledgment pursuant to section 48A.26.
   c.  A commissioner of registration shall not add a person subject to registration under this subsection to a voter registration list until at least twenty-one calendar days after the commissioner has issued notification to the person as described in paragraph “a”.
   d.  The electronic record and electronic signature, received under this subsection, of a person who does not qualify as an eligible elector shall not constitute a completed voter registration form under section 48A.11 and such a person shall not be considered to have submitted a voter registration application for purposes of section 39A.2, subsection 1, paragraph “a”.
    Sec. 9.  Section 48A.26, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  (1)  For a voter registration form or change of information in a voter registration record submitted at a precinct caucus, the commissioner shall send an acknowledgment within forty-five days of receipt of the form or change of information.
   (2)  For a voter registration application or change of information in a voter registration record completed pursuant to section 48A.18 or 48A.19, the commissioner shall send an acknowledgment within seven working days of the person being registered under either section.
    Sec. 10.  Section 48A.26, subsection 8, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   8.  An A completed voter registration application, improperly transmitted under section 48A.18, subsection 4A, or under section 48A.21, subsection 2, or an improperly addressed or delivered registration form shall be transmitted or forwarded to the appropriate county commissioner of registration within two working days after it is received by any other official. The date of registration shall be the date the completed application or registration form was received by the first official. If the registration form was postmarked fifteen or more days before an election and the registration form was received by the first official after the close of registration, the registration form shall be considered on time for the election.
    Sec. 11.  Section 48A.36, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  Voter registration agencies and the office of driver services of the state department of transportation may electronically transmit registration data to the state registrar of voters, who shall distribute the information, electronically or otherwise, to the appropriate commissioner in accordance with rules of the state voter registration commission and the state registrar of voters.  The office of driver services of the state department of transportation and voter registration agencies that collect personal information sufficient to complete a voter registration application shall electronically transmit registration data to the state registrar of voters as required pursuant to sections 48A.18 and 48A.21. The state agency originating the registration data shall permanently retain an electronic copy of the form completed by the registrant, including the registrant’s signature, and shall develop procedures for the retrieval and printing of that electronic document. A printed copy of an electronic registration document shall be made only upon the agency’s receipt of a court order.
    Sec. 12.  Section 331.557A, subsection 5, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  Participate in voter registration according to the terms of chapter 48A, and submit completed voter registration forms to the state registrar of voters appropriate county commissioner of registration.
    Sec. 13.  EMERGENCY RULES.  The state voter registration commission, in consultation with the department of transportation and voter registration agencies, may adopt emergency rules under section 17A.4, subsection 3, and section 17A.5, subsection 2, paragraph “b”, to implement the provisions of this Act and the rules shall be effective immediately upon filing unless a later date is specified in the rules. Any rules adopted in accordance with this section shall also be published as a notice of intended action as provided in section 17A.4.
    Sec. 14.  IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT.  Section 25B.2, subsection 3, shall not apply to this Act. 
    Sec. 15.  EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill provides for the registration of eligible electors upon review of electronic records received from state agencies.
   The bill allows for registration of eligible electors to vote following review of electronic records received from driver’s license and nonoperator’s identification card applications by county commissioners of registration (county auditors).
   The bill requires that the office of driver services of the department of transportation transmit to the state registrar of voters (the secretary of state) electronic records containing the legal name, age, residence, and citizenship information for, and the electronic signature of, each person submitting an application for a driver’s license or nonoperator’s identification card, or any renewal application. Current Code section 321.182 requires that an application for a license or card include an applicant’s full name, signature, current mailing address, current residential address, date of birth, social security number, and other information. Under current administrative rules of the state department of transportation, an applicant for a license or card is required to provide proof of lawful status in the United States. Also under current administrative rules, a person’s signature for a driver’s license or nonoperator’s identification card application is required to be captured electronically. Under current law, a county treasurer’s office participating in county issuance of driver’s licenses is required to participate in voter registration to the same extent as a license facility of the state department of transportation.
   The bill requires the state registrar of voters to transmit the electronic records and electronic signatures to the county commissioner of registration of the county where the person resides. The bill requires that the county commissioner review the electronic record and any other relevant information to determine if a person is an eligible elector. If the county commissioner determines a person to be an eligible elector and the person is not registered to vote in the county, the county commissioner is required to notify the person of the separate processes to decline to register to vote or to declare a political party affiliation. If a notified person fails to decline voter registration within 21 days after the county commissioner issued the notification, the bill provides that the electronic record and electronic signature shall constitute a completed voter registration form for that person and the bill requires the county commissioner to register the person to vote in that county and send the person an acknowledgment as required by current law. 
   The bill prohibits a county commissioner from adding a person’s name to a voter registration list until at least 21 days after the commissioner has issued notification to the person. The bill requires that a county commissioner send an acknowledgment of registration within seven business days of registering a person under the bill. The bill also provides that the electronic record and electronic signature of a person who does not qualify as an eligible elector does not constitute a completed voter registration form. Under the bill, such a person submitting an application for a license or card will not be subject to charges for voter registration fraud under Code section 39A.2 for submitting such an application.
   The bill also grants the state voter registration commission the authority to adopt rules to administer and interpret the provisions of the bill relating to voter registration at motor vehicle driver’s license stations. If interpretive rulemaking authority is clearly vested in the discretion of an agency by statute, the applicable judicial standard of review is whether the rules constitute an irrational, illogical, or wholly unjustifiable interpretation of law by the agency (Code section 17A.19(10)(l)). If interpretive rulemaking authority is not clearly vested in the discretion of an agency, the applicable judicial standard of review is whether the rules constitute an erroneous interpretation of law (Code section 17A.19(10)(c)).
   The bill makes changes to current law related to address confidentiality program participants under Code chapter 9E by requiring the state registrar to adopt rules for administration of registration for those participants. The bill maintains current law to allow for submission of a paper voter registration form through driver’s license offices. The bill specifies that a requirement that separate registration forms be signed by each individual registrant only applies to paper registration forms. Under the bill, driver’s license offices are required to transmit voter registration forms to the appropriate county commissioner and to transmit all electronic records and electronic signatures to the state registrar of voters. 
   Under current law, the state registrar of voters is required to establish rules regulating transmission of voter registration forms from driver’s license stations and voter registration agencies. Under the bill, such rules are required to be established by the state commission.
   The bill also allows for automatic voter registration to be completed based upon information received from voter registration agencies, including, under the bill, the department of education and other state offices that collect personal information sufficient to complete a voter registration application.
   The bill provides that the state voter registration commission, in consultation with the department of transportation and voter registration agencies, may adopt emergency rules to implement the provisions of the bill.
   The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code section 25B.3. The bill makes inapplicable Code section 25B.2(3), which would relieve a political subdivision from complying with a state mandate if funding for the cost of the state mandate is not provided or specified. Therefore, political subdivisions are required to comply with any state mandate included in the bill.
   The bill takes effect upon enactment.