The bill amends various sections of the Iowa Code to update the procedures for recounting and contesting elections, with a focus on enhancing the integrity and efficiency of the electoral process. Key changes include the replacement of "Monday" with "Tuesday" for canvassing elections, aligning the timing of these processes. It introduces specific conditions for requesting recounts, stipulating that the vote difference must be less than one percent or fifty votes, whichever is lesser, for most elections, and less than fifteen hundredths of one percent for statewide or federal offices. Additionally, the bill establishes guidelines for the recount process, including the composition of the recount board and the authority of the state commissioner of elections to intervene if recounts are improperly conducted.

The bill also updates procedures related to election audits, contest courts, and appeals, notably replacing "recounts" with "audits" in Section 50.50, which allows election commissioners to request administrative audits in cases of suspected equipment malfunction or counting errors. It introduces provisions for political parties to appoint observers during these audits and modifies the structure of contest courts for public measures and state offices by increasing the number of judges involved and permitting appeals to the supreme court. Furthermore, it changes the selection process for judges in contest courts, requiring appointments by the chief justice of the supreme court by January 30 of each odd-numbered year, and clarifies that judgments from these courts may be appealed to the supreme court, thereby enhancing oversight and accountability in election-related decisions.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 50.48, 50.24, 47.1, 58.4, 58.5, 58.7, 60.1, 60.6, 61.1, 61.4, 61.12, 62.1A, 62.20, 62.19
Reprinted: 43.49, 43.56, 46.24, 50.21, 53.20, 47.2, 50.24, 50.48, 47.1, 50.50, 43.2, 58.7, 60.1, 60.2, 60.6, 61.1, 61.2, 61.4, 61.12, 62.1A, 62.20, 62.19, 260C.15