Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Fiscal Note
                                        Fiscal Services Division
HF 2610 – Elections, Voting, Ballots, and Candidates (LSB6288HV.1)
Staff Contact: Joey Lovan (515.242.5925) joey.lovan@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – As amended and passed by the House
Description
House File 2610 relates to duties of the office of the Secretary of State (SOS). The Bill is
organized in seven divisions.
Divisions with No Fiscal Impact
Division I — Allows the SOS to accept an address confidentiality program participant’s shelter
name and other contact information. This Division also allows the SOS to hold a participant’s
mail for up to 30 days and to cancel certification if the participant dies. This Division takes effect
upon enactment.
Division II — Exempts a candidate for federal office from signing a disqualifying statement
affirming that the candidate has not been convicted of a felony or other infamous crimes and
limits objections. This Division takes effect upon enactment.
Division III — Prohibits the use of rank choice voting or instant runoff voting for elections. This
Division takes effect January 1, 2025.
Division IV — Eliminates the use of drop boxes and updates the contents of an absentee ballot.
This Division also changes the required timelines for mailing and returning an absentee ballot.
This Division takes effect January 1, 2025.
Division V — Prohibits a person standing for election to occupy a voting booth with a voter.
This Division takes effect January 1, 2025.
Division VII —Repeals Iowa Code section 347.9(5) where in the term length for persons
elected to a county hospital board of trustees in a county with a population of at least 400,000
was established to be six years. This Division takes effect January 1, 2025.
Division VI — Voter Registration Database Pilot Program
Description
Division VI creates a Voter Registration Database Verification Pilot Program. This Division
requires the State registrar of voters to contract with a third-party vendor to develop or provide a
program to verify ineligible voters on an ongoing basis. This Division requires the SOS, during
the first quarter of 2025, to use the developed or acquired program to forward the results of the
analysis of the voter registration file to each county commissioner of registration prior to the date
reports are required to be submitted pursuant to Iowa Code section 48A.40. This Division also
requires the State registrar of voters to evaluate the efficacy and costs of the Pilot Program as
compared to the current method of maintaining the statewide voter registration database. The
Program is repealed December 31, 2027.
Background
Currently, Iowa Code section 47.7 allows the State registrar to contract with a third-party vendor
to develop or provide a program to verify the status of records in the statewide voter registration
file. As of February 2024, there are approximately 2.2 million registered voters in the State of
Iowa.
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Assumptions
• The SOS estimates vendor costs to develop a voter registration database that will be
   compared against the current method to be between $0.05 and $0.15 per voter. The vendor
   costs are estimated to be between $110,000 and $331,000.
• Additional vendor and staff time to develop and make the comparison file is estimated to be
   approximately $25,000.
Fiscal Impact
The fiscal impact of Division VI is estimated to increase expenditures for the SOS by
approximately $135,000 and $356,000 for each year of the two-year Pilot Program.
Sources
Secretary of State
Legislative Services Agency
                                                                               /s/ Jennifer Acton
                                                                                March 19, 2024
Doc ID 1447786
The fiscal note for this Bill was prepared pursuant to Joint Rule 17 and the Iowa Code. Data used in developing this
fiscal note is available from the Fiscal Services Division of the Legislative Services Agency upon request.
                                                 www.legis.iowa.gov
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Statutes affected: 
Introduced: 9E.3, 9E.5, 43.18, 43.24, 44.3, 44.6, 54.5, 49.93, 39A.4, 53.8, 53.33, 53.12, 53.16, 53.17, 53.22, 53.17A, 53.30, 53.23, 43.2, 53.25, 53.18, 49.88, 49.90, 49.89, 347.9
Reprinted: 9E.3, 9E.5, 43.18, 43.24, 44.3, 44.6, 54.5, 49.93, 39A.4, 53.8, 53.33, 53.12, 53.16, 53.17, 53.22, 53.17A, 53.30, 53.23, 43.2, 53.25, 53.18, 49.88, 49.90, 49.89, 347.9