HF 819 (LSB 2670YH (2) 91)

HOUSE FILE 819

BY  YOUNG, ZABNER, MATSON, and DUNWELL

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to an absentee ballot marking pilot program for voters with disabilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  53.5  Absentee ballot marking pilot program.
   1.  The state commissioner may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to implement a pilot program to establish procedures to enable a voter with a disability that prevents the voter from marking a ballot by hand to independently and privately mark a ballot or use an electronic voting device that produces a paper record using nonvisual access, low-vision access, or other assistive technology in order for the voter to complete an absentee ballot by mail pursuant to this chapter. The procedures must include a method by which a voter with a disability that prevents the voter from marking a ballot by hand to request an absentee ballot by mail.
   2.  If the pilot program under this section is not implemented statewide, the pilot program must include a sufficient number of counties, as determined by the state commissioner, to conclude whether the program is feasible statewide.
   3.  The state commissioner shall file a report with the general assembly by December 31 of each year regarding the pilot program established under this section.
   4.  This section is repealed July 1, 2028.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill allows the state commissioner of elections to adopt rules to establish a pilot program to allow voters with disabilities that prevent such voters from marking ballots by hand to independently and privately mark absentee ballots, including by the use of assistive technology. The bill requires that the program include a method by which such voters can request an absentee ballot by mail.
   If the pilot program under the bill is not established statewide, the bill requires that the program be established in a sufficient number of counties to allow the state commissioner of elections to determine whether the program is feasible statewide. The bill requires the state commissioner of elections to file a report with the general assembly by December 31 of each year regarding the pilot program established under the bill.
   The pilot program is repealed July 1, 2028.