Senate File 36 - IntroducedA Bill ForAn Act 1requiring that a primary runoff election be held in
2the event of an inconclusive primary election for certain
3offices, and including effective date and applicability
4provisions.
5BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1   Section 1.  Section 43.52, Code 2019, is amended to read as
2follows:
   343.52  Nominees for county office.
   41.  a.  The nominee of each political party for any office to
5be filled by the voters of the entire county, or for the office
6of county supervisor elected from a district within the county,
7shall be the person receiving the highest number of votes cast
8in the primary election by the voters of that party for the
9office, and that person shall appear as the party’s candidate
10for the office on the general election ballot.
   11b.  If no candidate receives thirty-five percent or more
12of the votes cast by voters of the candidate’s party for the
13office sought, the primary is inconclusive and the nomination
14shall be made as provided by section 43.78, subsection 1,
15paragraphs “d” and “e”.
 subsection 3.
   162.  When two or more nominees are required, as in the case
17of at-large elections, the nominees shall likewise be the
18required number of persons who receive the greatest highest
19 number of votes cast in the primary election by the voters of
20the nominating party, but no candidate is nominated who fails
21to receive thirty-five percent of the number of votes found by
22dividing the number of votes cast by voters of the candidate’s
23party for the office in question by the number of persons to be
24elected to that office. If the primary is inconclusive under
25this subsection, the necessary number of nominations shall be
26made as provided by section 43.78, subsection 1, paragraphs “d”
27 and “e”.
 subsection 3.
   283.  a.  A primary runoff election shall be held only
29for nominations unfilled because the primary election is
30inconclusive under subsection 1 or 2.
   31(1)  When one nominee is required for an office, the two
32candidates who received the highest number of votes cast for
33that nomination in the primary election shall be the candidates
34in the primary runoff election.
   35(2)  When two or more nominees are required for an office and
-1-1the necessary number of nominations cannot be made pursuant to
2subsection 2, the number of candidates in the primary runoff
3election shall equal one more than the necessary number of
4nominations remaining unfilled. The candidates in the primary
5runoff election shall be the remaining candidates who received
6the highest number of votes cast in the primary election but
7who did not receive at least thirty-five percent of the votes
8cast in the primary election.
   9b.  Primary runoff elections shall be held four weeks
10after the date of the primary election and shall, insofar as
11practicable, be conducted and the results canvassed in the same
12manner as primary elections.
   13c.  The candidates equal in number to the necessary number of
14nominations remaining unfilled who receive the highest number
15of votes cast by the voters of the nominating party shall be
16the nominees of that party for that office in the general
17election.
   18d.  The fact that the candidate who receives the highest
19number of votes cast for any party’s nomination for an office
20under this subsection is a person whose name was not printed on
21the official primary runoff election ballot shall not affect
22the validity of the person’s nomination as a candidate for that
23office in the general election.
24   Sec. 2.  Section 43.65, Code 2019, is amended to read as
25follows:
   2643.65  Who nominated.
   271.  The candidate of each political party for nomination
28for each office to be filled by the voters of the entire
29state, and for each seat in the United States house of
30representatives, the Iowa house of representatives and each
31seat in the Iowa senate which is to be filled, who receives
32the highest number of votes cast by the voters of that party
33for that nomination shall be the candidate of that party for
34that office in the general election. However, if there are
35more than two candidates for any nomination and none of the
-2-1candidates receives thirty-five percent or more of the votes
2cast by voters of that party for that nomination, the primary
3is inconclusive and the nomination shall be made as provided
4by section 43.78, subsection 1, paragraph “a”, “b” or “c”,
5 whichever is appropriate
 subsection 2.
   62.  a.  A primary runoff election shall be held only
7for nominations unfilled because the primary election is
8inconclusive under subsection 1. The two candidates who
9received the highest number of votes cast for that nomination
10in the primary election shall be the candidates in the primary
11runoff election.
   12b.  Primary runoff elections shall be held four weeks
13after the date of the primary election and shall, insofar as
14practicable, be conducted and the results canvassed in the same
15manner as primary elections.
   16c.  The candidate in the primary runoff election who
17receives the highest number of votes cast by the voters of the
18nominating party shall be the nominee of that party for that
19office in the general election.
   20d.  The fact that the candidate who receives the highest
21number of votes cast for any party’s nomination for an office
22under this subsection is a person whose name was not printed on
23the official primary runoff election ballot shall not affect
24the validity of the person’s nomination as a candidate for that
25office in the general election.
26   Sec. 3.  Section 43.66, Code 2019, is amended to read as
27follows:
   2843.66  Write-in candidates.
   29The fact that the candidate who receives the highest number
30of votes cast for any party’s nomination for an office to
31which section 43.52 or 43.65 is applicable is a person whose
32name was not printed on the official primary election ballot
33shall not affect the validity of the person’s nomination as a
34candidate for that office in the general election. However,
35if there is no candidate on the official primary ballot of
-3-1a political party for nomination to a particular office, a
2write-in candidate may obtain the party’s nomination to that
3office in the primary if the candidate receives a number of
4votes equal to at least thirty-five percent of the total vote
5cast for all of that party’s candidates for that office in
6the last preceding primary election for which the party had
7candidates on the ballot for that office. If there have been
8no candidates from a political party for a seat in the general
9assembly since the most recent redistricting of the general
10assembly, a write-in candidate shall be considered nominated
11who receives a number of votes equal to at least thirty-five
12percent of the total votes cast, at the last preceding primary
13election in the precincts which currently constitute the
14general assembly district, for all of that party’s candidates
15for representative in the Congress of the United States or
16who receives at least one hundred votes, whichever number is
17greater. When two or more nominees are required, the division
18procedure prescribed in section 43.52, subsection 2, shall
19be applied to establish the minimum number of write-in votes
20necessary for nomination. If the primary is inconclusive, the
21necessary nominations shall be made in accordance with section
2243.78, subsection 1 43.52, subsection 3, or section 43.65,
23subsection 2, as applicable
.
24   Sec. 4.  Section 43.67, subsection 1, Code 2019, is amended
25to read as follows:
   261.  Each candidate nominated pursuant to section 43.52
27or 43.65 is entitled to have the candidate’s name printed
28on the official ballot to be voted at the general election
29without other certificate unless the candidate was nominated
30by write-in votes. Immediately after the completion of the
31canvass for the primary election held under section 43.49, the
32county auditor shall notify each person who was nominated by
33write-in votes for a county office that the person is required
34to file an affidavit of candidacy if the person wishes to be a
35candidate for that office at the general election. Immediately
-4-1after the completion of the canvass for the primary election
2 held under section 43.63, the secretary of state shall notify
3each person who was nominated by write-in votes for a state or
4federal office that the person is required to file an affidavit
5of candidacy if the person wishes to be a candidate for that
6office at the general election. If a person receives enough
7votes to be placed on a primary runoff election ballot, the
8county commissioner of elections or the state commissioner of
9elections, as appropriate, shall immediately after the canvass
10of the primary election notify the person that the person is
11required to file an affidavit of candidacy if the person wishes
12to be a candidate for nomination to that office at the primary
13runoff election.
If the affidavit is not filed by 5:00 p.m.
14on the seventh day after the completion of the canvass, that
15person’s name shall not be placed upon the official general
16election ballot or the primary election runoff ballot, as
17applicable
. The affidavit shall be signed by the candidate,
18notarized, and filed with the county auditor or the secretary
19of state, whichever is applicable.
20   Sec. 5.  Section 43.67, subsection 2, paragraph f, Code 2019,
21is amended to read as follows:
   22f.  A declaration that if the candidate is elected to the
23office sought
the candidate will qualify by taking the oath of
24office.
25   Sec. 6.  Section 43.77, subsection 2, Code 2019, is amended
26to read as follows:
   272.  The primary election was inconclusive as to that office
28because no candidate for the party’s nomination for that office
29received the number of votes required by section 43.52, section
30 43.53, or 43.65, whichever is applicable.
31   Sec. 7.  IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT.  Section 25B.2, subsection
323, shall not apply to this Act.
33EXPLANATION
34The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
35the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
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   1This bill requires a primary runoff election be held to
2determine a party’s nominee in the case of an inconclusive
3primary election for certain offices. Under current law, an
4inconclusive primary occurs when there is not a sufficient
5number of candidates who received at least 35 percent of the
6vote in the primary election to fill the necessary number
7of nominations for an office. Current law provides that
8nominations following an inconclusive primary be filled by the
9party’s state convention, congressional district convention,
10party precinct committee members, county convention delegates,
11or county convention precinct delegates, as applicable.
   12Primary runoff elections are to be held four weeks after
13the primary election and are to be conducted and the results
14canvassed in the same manner as primary elections.
   15Relating to primary runoff elections for county offices,
16the bill provides that when one nominee is required, the two
17candidates who received the highest number of votes cast for
18the nomination shall be the candidates in the primary runoff
19election. When two or more nominees are required and the
20necessary number of nominations were not made at the primary
21election, the number of candidates in the primary runoff
22election shall equal one more than the remaining necessary
23number of nominations, and the candidates shall be the
24remaining candidates who received the highest number of votes
25cast in the primary election but who did not receive at least
2635 percent of the vote cast to be nominated in the primary
27election. The candidate or candidates who receive the highest
28number of votes cast by voters of the nominating party in the
29primary runoff election shall be the nominee or nominees of
30that party for that office in the general election.
   31Relating to primary runoff elections for statewide office,
32congressional office, and members of the general assembly,
33the bill provides that the two candidates who received the
34highest number of votes cast in the primary election shall be
35the candidates in the primary runoff election. The candidate
-6-1in the primary runoff election who receives the highest number
2of votes cast by voters of the nominating party shall be the
3nominee of that party for that office in the general election.
   4The bill requires that if a person receives enough write-in
5votes at an inconclusive primary election to be placed on
6a primary runoff election ballot, the county commissioner
7of elections or the state commissioner of elections, as
8appropriate, shall immediately after the canvass of the primary
9election notify the person that the person is required to
10file an affidavit of candidacy if the person wishes to be a
11candidate for nomination to that office at the primary runoff
12election.
   13The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code
14section 25B.3. The bill makes inapplicable Code section 25B.2,
15subsection 3, which would relieve a political subdivision from
16complying with a state mandate if funding for the cost of
17the state mandate is not provided or specified. Therefore,
18political subdivisions are required to comply with any state
19mandate included in the bill.
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