CHAPTER 45
NOMINATIONS BY PETITION

Referred to in §39.3, 39.28, 39A.1, 39A.2, 39A.6, 43.2, 43.112, 43.121, 44.4, 44.17, 47.1, 49.104, 53.23, 161A.5, 260C.15, 260C.39, 275.35, 277.3, 296.4, 298.18, 303.49, 331.254, 347.25, 357H.6, 357J.16, 360.1, 372.2, 376.1, 376.3, 376.6, 376.8, 420.137

See also definitions in §39.3

  
     
45.1  Nominations by petition.
  1.  Nominations for candidates for president and vice president, governor and lieutenant governor, and for United States senator may be made by nomination petitions signed by not less than three thousand five hundred eligible electors, including at least one hundred eligible electors each from at least nineteen counties of the state.
  2.  Nominations for candidates for statewide offices other than those listed in subsection 1 may be made by nomination petitions signed by not less than two thousand five hundred eligible electors, including at least seventy-seven eligible electors from not less than eighteen counties of the state.
  3.  Nominations for candidates for a representative in the United States house of representatives may be made by nomination petitions signed by not less than one thousand seven hundred twenty-six eligible electors who are residents of the congressional district, including at least forty-seven eligible electors each from at least one-half of the counties in the congressional district.
  4.  Nominations for candidates for the state senate may be made by nomination petitions signed by not less than one hundred eligible electors who are residents of the senate district.
  5.  Nominations for candidates for the state house of representatives may be made by nomination petitions signed by not less than fifty eligible electors who are residents of the representative district.
  6.  Nominations for candidates for offices filled by the voters of a whole county may be made by nomination petitions signed by eligible electors who are residents of the county as follows:
  a.  For a county with a population of fifteen thousand or fewer according to the most recent federal decennial census, nomination petitions shall include at least fifty signatures.
  b.  For a county with a population of greater than fifteen thousand but fewer than fifty thousand according to the most recent federal decennial census, nomination petitions shall include at least seventy-five signatures.
  c.  For a county with a population of fifty thousand or greater according to the most recent federal decennial census, nomination petitions shall include at least one hundred signatures.
  7.  Nominations for candidates for the office of county supervisor elected by the voters of a supervisor district may be made by nomination petitions signed by eligible electors who are residents of the supervisor district as follows:
  a.  For a supervisor district with a population of fifteen thousand or fewer according to the most recent federal decennial census, nomination petitions shall include at least twenty-one signatures.
  b.  For a supervisor district with a population of greater than fifteen thousand but no more than fifty thousand according to the most recent federal decennial census, nomination petitions shall include at least fifty signatures.
  c.  For a supervisor district with a population of greater than fifty thousand according to the most recent federal decennial census, nomination petitions shall include at least one hundred signatures.
  8.  a.  Nomination papers for the offices of president and vice president shall include the names of the candidates for both offices on each page of the petition. A certificate listing the names of the candidates for presidential electors, one from each congressional district and two from the state at large, shall be filed in the state commissioner’s office at the same time the nomination papers are filed.
  b.  Nomination papers for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor shall include the names of candidates for both offices on each page of the petition. Nomination papers for other statewide elected offices and all other offices shall include the name of the candidate on each page of the petition.
  9.  Nominations for candidates for elective offices in cities where the council has adopted nominations under this chapter may be submitted as follows:
  a.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 10, in cities having a population of twenty-five thousand or greater according to the most recent federal decennial census, nominations may be made by nomination papers signed by not less than seventy-five eligible electors who are residents of the city or ward.
  b.  In cities having a population of seven thousand five hundred or greater, but less than twenty-five thousand, according to the most recent federal decennial census, nominations may be made by nomination papers signed by not less than fifty eligible electors who are residents of the city or ward.
  c.  In cities having a population of two thousand five hundred or greater, but less than seven thousand five hundred, according to the most recent federal decennial census, nominations may be made by nomination papers signed by not less than twenty-five eligible electors who are residents of the city or ward.
  d.  In cities having a population of less than two thousand five hundred, according to the most recent federal decennial census, nominations may be made by nomination papers signed by not less than ten eligible electors who are residents of the city or ward.
  10.  Nominations for candidates, other than partisan candidates, for elective offices in special charter cities subject to section 43.112 may be submitted as follows:
  a.  For the office of mayor and alderman at large, nominations may be made by nomination papers signed by seventy-five eligible electors residing in the city.
  b.  For the office of ward alderman, nominations may be made by nomination papers signed by seventy-five eligible electors residing in the ward.
[C97, §1100; C24, §651; C27, 31, 35, §655-a17; C39, §655.17; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §45.1; 81 Acts, ch 34, §7]
86 Acts, ch 1224, §7; 88 Acts, ch 1119, §10, 11; 89 Acts, ch 136, §27; 93 Acts, ch 143, §8; 94 Acts, ch 1180, §10; 2007 Acts, ch 25, §2; 2008 Acts, ch 1032, §201; 2009 Acts, ch 57, §10; 2020 Acts, ch 1062, §18; 2021 Acts, ch 12, §16, 17, 73, 74; 2021 Acts, ch 147, §20, 54; 2021 Acts, ch 174, §31, 34, 37; 2022 Acts, ch 1004, §2 – 4; 2022 Acts, ch 1153, §5
Referred to in §43.20, 45.6
2021 amendment to subsections 1 and 3 and 2021 enactment of subsection 2 apply to all candidates seeking election to an office that will appear on a ballot in or after 2022; 2021 Acts, ch 12, §74
Subsection 7, NEW paragraph a
Subsection 7, former paragraph a amended and redesignated as b
[ ()]Subsection 7, former paragraph b redesignated as c

     
45.2  Adding name by petition.
  The name of a candidate placed upon the ballot by any other method than by petition shall not be added by petition for the same office in the same election.
[C97, §1100; C24, §651; C27, 31, 35, §655-a18; C39, §655.18; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §45.2]
Other methods, chapters 43, 44 

     
45.3  Affidavit of candidacy.
  Each candidate shall complete and file a signed, notarized affidavit of candidacy. The affidavit shall be filed at the same time as the nomination petition. The affidavit shall be in the form prescribed by the secretary of state and shall include the following information:
  1.  The candidate’s name in the form the candidate wants it to appear on the ballot.
  2.  The candidate’s home address.
  3.  The name of the county in which the candidate resides.
  4.  The name of the political organization by which the candidate was nominated, if any.
  5.  The office sought by the candidate, and the district the candidate seeks to represent, if any.
  6.  A declaration that if the candidate is elected the candidate will qualify by taking the oath of office.
  7.  A statement that the candidate is aware that the candidate is required to organize a candidate’s committee which shall file an organization statement and disclosure reports if the committee or the candidate receives contributions, makes expenditures, or incurs indebtedness in excess of the reporting threshold in section 68A.102, subsection 5. This subsection shall not apply to candidates for federal office.
  8.  A statement that the candidate is aware of the prohibition in section 49.41 against being a candidate for more than one office to be filled at the same election, except county agricultural extension council and soil and water conservation district commission.
  9.  A statement that the candidate is aware that the candidate is disqualified from holding office if the candidate has been convicted of a felony or other infamous crime and the candidate’s rights have not been restored by the governor or by the president of the United States.
[C97, §1100; C24, §651; C27, 31, 35, §655-a19; C39, §655.19; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §45.3; C75, §45.3, 56.5(4); C77, 79, 81, §45.3; 81 Acts, ch 35, §18]
87 Acts, ch 221, §6; 89 Acts, ch 136, §28; 90 Acts, ch 1238, §9; 91 Acts, ch 129, §9; 94 Acts, ch 1023, §79; 94 Acts, ch 1180, §11; 98 Acts, ch 1052, §4; 2001 Acts, ch 158, §9; 2002 Acts, ch 1134, §14, 115
Referred to in §39.22, 49.41, 357.13, 358.9, 376.11

     
45.4  Filing — presumption — withdrawals — objections.
  The time and place of filing nomination petitions, the presumption of validity thereof, the right of a candidate so nominated to withdraw and the effect of such withdrawal, and the right to object to the legal sufficiency of such petitions, or to the eligibility of the candidate, shall be governed by the law relating to nominations by political organizations which are not political parties.
[C97, §1104; SS15, §1104; C24, §652, 654, 655; C27, 31, 35, §655-a20; C39, §655.20; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §45.4]
Statutes applicable, chapter 44 

  
     
45.5  Form of nomination papers.
  1.  Nomination papers shall include a petition and an affidavit of candidacy. All nomination petitions shall be eight and one-half by eleven inches in size and shall be in substantially the form prescribed by the state commissioner of elections. They shall provide spaces for the following information:
  a.  A statement identifying the signers of the petition as eligible electors of the appropriate ward, city, county, school district or school district director district, or legislative district and of the state of Iowa.
  b.  The name of the candidate nominated by the petition.
  c.  A statement that the candidate is or will be a resident of the appropriate ward, city, county, school district, or legislative or other district as required by section 39.27.
  d.  The office sought by the candidate, including the district number, if any.
  e.  The name and date of the election for which the candidate is nominated.
  2.  a.  Signatures on a petition page shall be counted only if the information required in subsection 1 is written or printed at the top of the page.
  b.  Nomination papers on behalf of candidates for seats in the general assembly need only designate the number of the senatorial or representative district, as appropriate, and not the county or counties, in which the candidate and the petitioners reside.
  c.  A signature line in a nomination petition shall not be counted if the line lacks the signature of the eligible elector and the signer’s residential address, with street and number, if any, and city. A signature line shall not be counted if an eligible elector supplies only a partial address or a post office box address, or if the signer’s address is obviously outside the boundaries of the appropriate ward, city, school district or school district director district, legislative district, or other district.
  d.  A signature line shall not be counted if any of the required information is crossed out or redacted at the time the nomination papers are filed with the state commissioner or commissioner.
  3.  The pages of the petition shall be securely fastened together to form a single bundle. Nomination petitions that are not bound shall be returned without further examination. The state commissioner shall prescribe by rule the acceptable methods for binding nomination petitions.
  4.  The person examining the petition shall mark any deficiencies on the petition. Signed nomination petitions and the signed and notarized affidavit of candidacy shall not be altered to correct deficiencies noted during the examination. If the nomination petition lacks a sufficient number of acceptable signatures, the nomination papers shall be rejected and returned to the candidate.
  5.  The nomination papers shall be rejected if the affidavit lacks any of the following:
  a.  The candidate’s name.
  b.  The name of the office sought, including the district, if any.
  c.  The signature of the candidate.
  d.  The signature of a notary public under chapter 9B or other officer empowered to witness oaths.
  6.  The candidate may replace a deficient affidavit with a corrected one only if the replacement is filed before the filing deadline. The candidate may resubmit a nomination petition that has been rejected by adding a sufficient number of pages or signatures to correct the deficiency. A nomination petition and affidavit filed to replace rejected nomination papers shall be filed together before the deadline for filing.
2002 Acts, ch 1134, §15, 115; 2003 Acts, ch 44, §23, 24; 2007 Acts, ch 59, §4, 19; 2012 Acts, ch 1050, §35, 60; 2019 Acts, ch 148, §16, 17, 33; 2020 Acts, ch 1098, §2
Referred to in §376.4
Similar provision, see §43.14
Oaths, see chapter 63A

  
     
45.6  Requirements in signing.
  The following requirements shall be observed in the signing and preparation of nomination petitions:
  1.  A signer may sign nomination petitions for more than one candidate for the same office, and the signature is not invalid solely because the signer signed nomination petitions for one or more other candidates for the office.
  2.  Each signer shall add the signer’s residential address, with street and number, if any, and city.
  3.  All signers, for all nominations, of each separate part of a nomination petition, shall reside in the appropriate ward, city, county, school district or school district director district, legislative district, or other district as required by section 45.1.
  4.  When more than one sheet is used, the sheets shall be neatly arranged and securely fastened together before filing, and shall be considered one nomination petition. Nomination petitions which are not securely fastened together shall be returned to the candidate or the candidate’s designee without examination. The state commissioner shall prescribe by rule the acceptable methods for binding nomination petitions.
  5.  Only one candidate shall be petitioned for or nominated in the same nomination petition, except for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor, and president and vice president.
2002 Acts, ch 1134, §16, 115; 2007 Acts, ch 59, §5, 19; 2019 Acts, ch 148, §18, 33