House File 27 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE 27
BY JACOBY
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to the absentee voting period.
2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. Section 53.8, subsection 1, paragraph a,
2 unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2021, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 Upon receipt of an application for an absentee ballot
5 and immediately after the absentee ballots are printed,
6 but not more than twenty-nine days before the election, the
7 commissioner shall mail an absentee ballot to the applicant
8 within twenty-four hours, except as otherwise provided in
9 subsection 3. When the United States post office is closed
10 in observance of a federal holiday and is not delivering mail
11 on the twenty-ninth day before the election, the first day to
12 mail absentee ballots is the next business day on which mail
13 delivery is available. The absentee ballot shall be sent to
14 the registered voter by one of the following methods:
15 Sec. 2. Section 53.10, subsection 1, Code 2021, is amended
16 to read as follows:
17 1. Not more than twenty-nine forty-five days before the
18 date of the primary election or the general election, the
19 commissioner shall provide facilities for absentee voting in
20 person at the commissioner’s office. This service shall also
21 be provided for other elections as soon as the ballots are
22 ready, but in no case shall absentee ballots be available under
23 this section more than twenty-nine forty-five days before an
24 election.
25 Sec. 3. Section 53.11, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2021,
26 is amended to read as follows:
27 a. Not more than twenty-nine forty-five days before the
28 date of an election, satellite absentee voting stations may be
29 established throughout the cities and county at the direction
30 of the commissioner and shall be established upon receipt
31 of a petition signed by not less than one hundred eligible
32 electors requesting that a satellite absentee voting station
33 be established at a location to be described on the petition.
34 However, if a special election is scheduled in the county on a
35 date that falls between the date of the regular city election
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1 and the date of the city runoff election, the commissioner is
2 not required to establish a satellite absentee voting station
3 for the city runoff election.
4 Sec. 4. Section 53.42, Code 2021, is amended to read as
5 follows:
6 53.42 Voting in person in commissioner’s office.
7 Notwithstanding the provision as to time found in section
8 53.10, any qualified voter in the armed forces of the United
9 States may personally appear in the office of the commissioner
10 of the county of the voter’s residence and there vote an absent
11 voter’s ballot at any time not earlier than forty forty-five
12 days before the primary or general election, as the case may
13 be.
14 EXPLANATION
15 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
16 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
17 This bill changes the start of the absentee voting period
18 from not more than 29 days before the date of an election to not
19 more than 45 days before the date of an election. The bill also
20 changes the start of the absentee voting period for qualified
21 voters in the armed forces from not more than 40 days before
22 the date of an election to not more than 45 days before the date
23 of an election.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 53.8, 53.10, 53.11, 53.42