Relating to county supervisors, concerning county supervisor representation plans and county supervisor vacancies, and including effective date provisions

Description

Senate File 443 relates to county redistricting plans and makes the following changes:

• Division I requires counties with a population greater than 125,000 to use plan “three” for election supervisors. Counties with a population of 125,000 or more based on the most recent federal decennial census that do not use plan “three” for the election of supervisors, as of the effective date of this Bill, are required to commence plan “three” for the election of supervisors in the 2024 general election.
• Counties are required to establish a temporary county redistricting commission to adopt a representation plan no later than 30 days after the effective date of this Bill or May 15, 2023. The plan is required to be submitted to the Secretary of State’s office no later than November 1, 2023, and will become effective January 1, 2024.
• Division II requires vacancies on a board of supervisors to be filled by special election.
• Division III makes the Bill effective upon enactment.

Background

Under Iowa Code section 331.206, county redistricting plans are selected by the county board of supervisors or by special election (Iowa Code section 331.207). The three types of plans are as follows:

• Plan “one” — Election at large and without district residence requirements for the members.
• Plan “two” — Election at large but with equal-population district residence requirements for the members.
• Plan “three” — Election from single-member equal-population districts in which the electors of each district shall elect one member who must reside in that district. Currently, there are five counties with a population of 125,000 or greater that would be required to use plan “three.” Of the five counties, three will be changing from plan “one” to plan “three,” and two already use plan “three.”

Iowa Code section 69.14A allows for the vacancies to be filled by appointment under certain circumstances.

Assumptions

Division I

• Counties that operate under plan “one” are Scott, Johnson, and Black Hawk. These counties will experience an estimated cost between $40,000 and $80,000 per county to conform their district plans to that of plan “three.” The estimated cost will cover training, additional precincts, conforming ballots, and the mailing of new voter registration cards to all eligible voters within the county.
• Counties that operate under plan “three” are Polk and Linn. These counties will see no additional cost.

Division II

Counties that are required to hold special elections as a result of vacancies for their board of supervisors may experience an estimated cost per county between $1,000 and $185,000, depending on the number of registered voters in the county. However, the frequency and location of these vacancies cannot be estimated.

Fiscal Impact

Division I

For the three counties required to change from plan “one” to plan “three,” the one-time cost per county is estimated to be between $40,000 and $80,000 for a total one-time cost between $120,000 and $240,000 for FY 2024.

Division II

Counties who hold special elections for their board of supervisors may make expenditures between $1,000 and $185,000 per county for each special election held.

Source

• Iowa State Association of Counties