This bill establishes mandatory primary elections for the nomination of candidates in city, school district, and merged area elections in Iowa, amending various sections of the Code 2025. It introduces new requirements for candidates in school district primary elections to file nomination papers with the secretary of the school board and outlines procedures for addressing objections to nominations. The financial responsibility for conducting these primary elections will fall on the respective city councils and school boards. Notably, the bill removes previous exemptions for certain city offices from the nomination process, thereby extending the primary election framework to school districts and standardizing the nomination process across local government entities.

Additionally, the bill repeals previous nomination methods, such as nominations by petition and runoff elections, and shifts the process to align with Code chapter 43, which governs partisan nominations. It grants county boards of supervisors the option to choose between optical scan voting systems or hand counting ballots, enhancing election administration flexibility. Key amendments include the removal of specific sections related to nomination procedures and the introduction of new provisions that clarify election officials' responsibilities, such as deadlines for delivering public measure texts and nomination papers. The bill is set to take effect for elections held on or after January 1, 2027, ensuring a timely implementation of the new nomination processes.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 43.24, 43.78, 43.112, 43.114, 43.115, 45.1, 49.31, 50.48, 69.12, 372.13, 277.4, 279.6, 43.49, 376.4, 376.5, 362.3, 50.24, 50.44, 420.137