SSB 1088 (LSB 1418XD (6) 91)

SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED SECRETARY OF STATE BILL)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to voter registration, including voter registration file maintenance and verification of voter eligibility.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 47.7, subsection 2, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  a.  On or before January 1, 2006, the The state registrar of voters shall implement in a uniform and nondiscriminatory manner, a single, uniform, official, centralized, interactive computerized statewide voter registration file defined, maintained, and administered at the state level that contains the name and registration information of every legally registered voter in the state and assigns a unique identifier to each legally registered voter in the state. The state voter registration system shall be coordinated with other agency databases within the state, including, but not limited to, state department of transportation driver’s license records, judicial records of convicted felons and persons declared incompetent to vote, and department of health and human services records of deceased persons.
   b.  On or after January 1, 2007, a A county shall not establish or maintain a voter registration system separate from the state voter registration system. Each county shall provide to the state registrar the names, voter registration information, and voting history of each registered voter in the county in the form required by the state registrar.
   c.  A state or local election official may obtain immediate electronic access to the information contained in the computerized voter registration file. All voter registration information obtained by a local election official shall be electronically entered into the computerized voter registration file on an expedited basis at the time the information is provided to the local election official. The state registrar shall provide such support as may be required to enable local election officials to electronically enter the information into the computerized voter registration file on an expedited basis. The list generated from the computerized file shall serve as the official voter registration list for the conduct of all elections for federal office in the state.
   d.  The state registrar shall prescribe by rule the procedures for access to the state voter registration file, including all of the following:
   (1)  Access protocols for adding, changing, or deleting information from the state voter registration file.
   (2)  Training requirements for all state voter registration file users.
   (3)  Technology safeguards, including county information technology network requirements, necessary to access the state voter registration file.
   (4)  Breach incident response requirements and protocols on all matters related to elections.
   e.  The state registrar may rescind access to the statewide voter registration file from a user who is not in compliance with the prescribed rules.
   f.  (1)  The state registrar shall, in the first quarter of each calendar year, conduct a verification of all voters in the statewide voter registration file, which shall include cross-referencing the records in the statewide voter registration file with similar records maintained by other states. The state registrar of voters shall cancel the registration of a voter found to be ineligible pursuant to section 48A.30. The state registrar shall submit a report to the general assembly by April 30 of each year regarding the number of voter registrations canceled pursuant to this paragraph. The state registrar shall also publish this report on the internet site of the state registrar.
   (2)  g.  The state registrar may contract with a third-party vendor, including state and federal government agencies and private entities, to develop or provide a program to allow the state registrar to verify the status of records in the statewide voter registration file and identify ineligible voters on an ongoing basis.
   h.  The state registrar may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A for the use of federal and other state agency sources of information. The state registrar and county commissioners of elections may use those sources of information for voter registration file maintenance.
   i.  The department of transportation shall transmit to the state registrar a list of each person seventeen years of age or older in the state who has submitted documentation indicating that the person is not a citizen of the United States.
    Sec. 2.  Section 48A.10A, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2025, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  The state registrar shall compare lists of persons who are registered to vote with the department of transportation’s driver’s license and files, nonoperator’s identification card files, and noncitizen identification files, and shall, on an initial basis, issue a voter identification card to each active, registered voter whose name does not appear in the department of transportation’s files. The voter identification card shall include the name of the registered voter, a signature line above which the registered voter shall sign the voter identification card, the registered voter’s identification number assigned to the voter pursuant to section 47.7, subsection 2, an additional four-digit personal identification number assigned by the state commissioner, and the times during which polling places will be open on election days. 
   2.  The commissioner shall issue voter identification cards on an ongoing basis as prescribed by the state registrar. The commissioner shall, as a part of the voter acknowledgment process required under sections 48A.26 and 48A.26A, issue a voter identification card to a registered voter under this subsection at the time of registration or update to registration if the registered voter’s name does not appear in the department of transportation’s driver’s license, or nonoperator’s identification card, or noncitizen identification files. A registered voter whose name appears in the department of transportation’s driver’s license, or nonoperator’s identification card, or noncitizen identification files shall not be issued a voter identification card pursuant to this section.
    Sec. 3.  Section 48A.25A, Code 2025, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  2A.  A voter registration record shall be designated as unconfirmed status if the registrant self-reports to be a noncitizen on the voter registration form and signs the portion of the form affirming the person’s United States citizenship.
    Sec. 4.  Section 48A.30, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  h.  The registered voter submits documentation that indicates that the registered voter is not a citizen of the United States or reports to a state or federal agency that the registered voter is not a citizen of the United States.
    Sec. 5.  Section 48A.30, subsection 2, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  When a registration is canceled pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph “d”, “e”, or “g”, or “h”, the commissioner shall send a notice of the cancellation to the registered voter.
    Sec. 6.  Section 48A.37, subsection 2, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  Electronic records shall include a status code designating whether the records are active, inactive, incomplete, pending, unconfirmed, or canceled.
   a.  Inactive records are records of registered voters to whom notices have been sent pursuant to section 48A.28, and who have not returned the card or otherwise responded to the notice, and those records have been designated inactive pursuant to section 48A.29. Inactive records are also records of registered voters to whom notices have been sent pursuant to section 48A.26A and who have not responded to the notice. Incomplete records are records missing required information pursuant to section 48A.11, subsection 8. Pending records are records of applicants whose applications have not been verified pursuant to section 48A.25A.  Unconfirmed records are records of registered voters about whom the state registrar or county commissioner has received information from a reliable source indicating that the registered voter is not qualified. Canceled records are records that have been canceled pursuant to section 48A.30. All other records are active records.
   b.  An inactive record shall be made active when the registered voter requests an absentee ballot, votes at an election, registers again, or reports a change of name, address, telephone number, or political party or organization affiliation. An incomplete record shall be made active when a completed application is received from the applicant and verified pursuant to section 48A.25A. A pending record shall be made active upon verification or upon the voter providing identification pursuant to section 48A.8.  An unconfirmed record shall be made active upon the registered voter providing evidence that the registered voter is qualified.
    Sec. 7.  Section 49.77, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Any person desiring to vote shall sign a voter’s declaration provided by the officials, in substantially the following form:
VOTER’S DECLARATION
 OF ELIGIBILITY

  I do solemnly swear or affirm that I am a resident of the .... precinct, .... ward or township, city of ........, county of ........, Iowa.  I am a citizen of the United States.

  I am a registered voter. I was born on the .... day of .... (month) .... (year). I have not voted and will not 
vote in any other precinct in said election.

  I understand that any false statement in this declaration is a criminal offense punishable as provided by law.
                ................................

                Signature of Voter
                ................................
                Address
                ................................
                Telephone (optional)
Approved:
............................................
Board Member
    Sec. 8.  Section 49.80, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code 2025, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph:
   NEW SUBPARAGRAPH.  (5)  The person’s citizenship status.
    Sec. 9.  Section 50.22, subsection 2, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  The decision to count or reject each ballot shall be made upon the basis of the information given on the envelope containing the provisional ballot, the evidence concerning the challenge, the registration and the returned receipts of registration.  Ballots submitted to the board pursuant to section 49.78 or 49.81 that are not cured by the deadline provided in section 49.81, subsection 6, shall be rejected.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to voter registration file maintenance and the verification of the eligibility of registered voters. The bill specifies that the state registrar of voters may contract with federal and state agencies and private entities for voter registration verification purposes and allows the state registrar to adopt rules regarding the use of federal and state sources of information for voter registration file maintenance.
   The bill requires the department of transportation to share with the state registrar of voters a list of each person who has submitted documentation indicating that the person is not a citizen of the United States and requires the state registrar of voters to compare the list of registered voters with the noncitizen identification information maintained by the department of transportation.
   The bill requires a voter registration to be marked as “unconfirmed” if a registrant marks on the voter registration form that the registrant is a noncitizen and also signs the portion of the form affirming that the registrant is a citizen of the United States or if the state registrar of voters or county commissioner of elections receives reliable information that the registered voter is not a citizen of the United States. The bill requires a voter registration to be changed from unconfirmed to active if the registered voter provides evidence that the registered voter is qualified to vote. The bill adds a statement regarding citizenship status to the declaration of eligibility signed by each voter prior to receiving a ballot.
   The bill also requires a voter registration to be canceled if the registered voter submits documentation that indicates that the registered voter is not a citizen of the United States or reports to a state or federal agency that the registered voter is not a citizen of the United States. The bill allows a precinct election official to question a person about the person’s citizenship status if the right of the person to vote is challenged at the time the person is offering to vote.
   The bill requires the special precinct election board to reject provisional ballots that have not been cured by the statutory deadline.