House File 519 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE 519
BY ANDERSON, HANSEN, and
COHOON
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to the election of presidential electors.
2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. Section 50.45, Code 2021, is amended to read as
2 follows:
3 50.45 Canvass public —— result determined.
4 1. All canvasses of tally lists shall be public, and the
5 persons having the greatest number of votes shall be declared
6 elected, except as provided in subsection 2. When a public
7 measure has been submitted to the electors, the proposition
8 shall be declared to have been adopted if the vote cast in
9 favor of the question is greater than fifty percent of the
10 total vote cast in favor and against the question, unless
11 laws pertaining specifically to the public measure election
12 establish a higher percentage of a favorable vote. All
13 ballots cast and not counted as a vote in favor or against the
14 proposition shall not be used in computing the total vote cast
15 in favor and against the proposition.
16 2. The persons declared elected to the position of
17 presidential elector shall be as follows:
18 a. Two persons shall be declared elected who were selected
19 by the political party, or group of petitioners, of the
20 candidates for president and vice president who have the
21 greatest number of votes statewide.
22 b. One person shall be declared elected from each
23 congressional district who was selected by the political party,
24 or group of petitioners, of the candidates for president and
25 vice president who have the greatest number of votes in that
26 congressional district.
27 EXPLANATION
28 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
29 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
30 This bill relates to the election of presidential electors.
31 The bill changes the allocation of presidential electors such
32 that two are declared elected from the political party, or
33 group of petitioners, of the candidates for president and vice
34 president who received the greatest number of votes statewide
35 and one elector is declared elected from each congressional
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 H.F. 519
1 district who was selected by the political party, or group of
2 petitioners, of the candidates for president and vice president
3 having the greatest number of votes in that congressional
4 district. Under current law, all presidential electors are
5 allocated to the statewide winner.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 50.45