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Amendments › HF 2610

Amendment H-8100 to HF 2610

Relating to the duties of the secretary of state, including the address confidentiality program and the conduct of elections, and including effective date provisions

Failed · March 5, 2024Vote: 35 yeas, 62 naysStrike everything: replaces the whole bill

Filed February 28, 2024 in the House by

What it changes

  1. By striking everything after the enacting clause and inserting: “DIVISION I AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION Section
  2. Section 48A.7, Code 2024, 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.
  3. Section 48A.8, subsection 1, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
  4. 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.
  5. Section 48A.18, subsections 1 and 3, Code 2024, are amended to read as follows:
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Section 48A.18, subsection 4, Code 2024, is amended by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
  9. 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.
  10. Section 48A.18, Code 2024, 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.
  11. Section 48A.19, subsection 1, Code 2024, 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 application, as determined by the state commissioner. Sec.
  12. Section 48A.19, subsection 4, paragraph a, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2024, 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.
  13. Section 48A.21, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows: 48A.21 Transmission of forms from agencies and driver’s license stations .
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. Section 48A.26, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code 2024, 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.
  18. Section 48A.26, subsection 8, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
  19. 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.
  20. Section 48A.36, subsection 1, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
  21. 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.
  22. Section 331.557A, subsection 5, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
  23. 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.
  24. 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 division 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.
  25. IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT. Section 25B.2, subsection 3, shall not apply to this division of this Act. DIVISION II ABSENTEE VOTING PERIOD AND LOCATIONS Sec.
  26. Section 53.8, subsection 1, paragraph a, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows: Upon receipt of an application for an absentee ballot and immediately after the absentee ballots are printed, but not more than twenty days before the election, the commissioner shall mail an absentee ballot to the applicant within twenty-four hours, except as otherwise provided in subsection 3 . The absentee ballot shall be sent to the registered voter by one of the following methods: Sec.
  27. Section 53.10, subsection 1, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows:
  28. Not more than twenty forty-five days before the date of the primary election or the general election, the commissioner shall provide facilities for absentee voting in person at the commissioner’s office. This service shall also be provided for other elections as soon as the ballots are ready, but in no case shall absentee ballots be available under this section more than twenty forty-five days before an election. Sec.
  29. Section 53.11, subsection 1, paragraphs a and b, Code 2024, are amended to read as follows: a. Not more than twenty forty-five days before the date of an election, satellite absentee voting stations may be established throughout the cities and county at the discretion of the commissioner and shall be established upon receipt of a petition signed by not less than one hundred eligible electors requesting that a satellite absentee voting station be established at a location to be described on the petition. However, if a special election is scheduled in the county on a date that falls between the date of the regular city election and the date of the city runoff election, the commissioner is not required to establish a satellite absentee voting station for the city runoff election. b. A satellite absentee voting station established by petition must be open at least one day for a minimum of six hours and . A satellite absentee voting station established at the direction of the commissioner or by petition may remain open until 5:00 p.m. on the day before the election. Sec.
  30. Section 53.42, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows: 53.42 Voting in person in commissioner’s office. Notwithstanding the provision as to time found in section 53.10 , any qualified voter in the armed forces of the United States may personally appear in the office of the commissioner of the county of the voter’s residence and there vote an absent voter’s ballot at any time not earlier than forty forty-five days before the primary or general election, as the case may be. DIVISION III ABSENTEE BALLOT COUNTING Sec.
  31. Section 53.23, subsection 3, paragraph c, Code 2024, is amended to read as follows: c. The commissioner may convene the special precinct election board on the day Saturday and Monday before the election to begin counting absentee ballots. However, if in the preceding general election the counting of absentee ballots was not completed by 10:00 p.m. on election day, the commissioner shall convene the special precinct election board on the day Saturday and Monday before the next general election to begin counting absentee ballots. The board shall not release the results of its tabulation pursuant to this paragraph until the count is completed on election day. DIVISION IV CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION Sec.
  32. Section 48A.28, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new subsection: NEW SUBSECTION .
  33. A commissioner shall not conduct a systematic program to remove records from the official list of registered voters later than six months before a general election. Sec.
  34. Section 48A.30, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new subsections: NEW SUBSECTION .
  35. A voter registration shall not be canceled solely on the basis that mail to the voter was returned as undeliverable except as provided in section 48A.29. NEW SUBSECTION .
  36. A voter registration shall not be canceled unless the commissioner verifies that the registration belongs to an ineligible voter. The commissioner shall verify that the identity of the ineligible voter matches the voter registration to be canceled through one of the following means: a. The voter’s full name. b. The voter’s date of birth. c. The last four digits of the voter’s social security number. d. Documentation from the electronic registration information center that the voter is no longer a resident of this state. NEW SUBSECTION .
  37. Prior to canceling a voter registration, the commissioner shall publicly publish notice of the cancellation as provided in chapter
  38. DIVISION V ABSENTEE BALLOT DROP BOXES Sec.
  39. Section 53.17, subsection 1, paragraph c, subparagraph (1), Code 2024, is amended to read as follows: (1) A commissioner shall not establish more than at least one ballot drop box , which shall be located at the office of the commissioner, or on property owned and maintained by the county that directly surrounds the building where the office is located per twenty-five thousand residents of the county . For the purposes of this subparagraph, “office of the commissioner” means a location where a voter may receive services pursuant to section 48A.17 , 50.20 , 53.10 , or 53.18 . Sec.
  40. Section 53.17, subsection 1, paragraph c, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph: NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (11) A ballot drop box shall be composed of a material that cannot be readily destroyed or penetrated. DIVISION VI EFFECTIVE DATE Sec.
  41. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.”
  42. Title page, by striking lines 1 through 3 and inserting “An Act relating to the conduct of elections, and including effective date provisions.”

Official amendment (PDF) · In the Bill Book