The 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 to include school district elections alongside city elections. It requires candidates to file nomination papers with the city clerk or the secretary of the school board and outlines procedures for handling 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 requirements to all relevant local elections.

Additionally, the legislation shifts the nomination process to align with Code chapter 43, which governs partisan nominations, and repeals previous nomination methods such as nominations by petition and runoff elections. It introduces new provisions detailing the number of signatures required for candidates and the timeline for filing objections, while also clarifying the responsibilities of election officials. The bill allows county boards of supervisors to choose between optical scan voting systems or hand counting ballots, enhancing election administration flexibility. These changes will take effect for elections held on or after January 1, 2027, marking a significant overhaul in the conduct of local elections in Iowa.

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