Fiscal Note
Fiscal Services Division
SF 413 – Elections (LSB2298SV.2)
Staff Contact: Maria Wagenhofer (515.281.5270) maria.wagenhofer@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – Final Action
Description
Senate File 413 relates to the conduct of elections, including absentee ballots and voter list
maintenance activities, and makes penalties applicable. The Bill takes effect upon enactment.
Election Misconduct and Applicable Penalties
Senate File 413 creates penalties for election officials who willfully fail to perform duties.
Specifically, the Bill changes the following offenses to apply to the individuals specified:
• Election misconduct in the first degree — Election officials who fail to perform duties
prescribed in Iowa Code chapters 39 through 53, with the exception of voter registration
maintenance; fail to follow or implement guidance issued by the Secretary of State’s (SOS)
Office; or perform duties in a way that hinders or disregards the object of the law.
• Election misconduct in the second degree — Election officials who fail to perform voter list
maintenance as found through an audit by the SOS Office and investigated by the relevant
county attorney and Attorney General.
• Election misconduct in the third degree — Election officials who interfere with a person who
is allowed to be at a polling place.
The Bill also applies election misconduct in the third degree to a person who returns a voted
absentee ballot, including to a ballot drop box, who is not the registered voter, an individual who
lives in the same household as the registered voter, an immediate family member of the
registered voter, a caregiver of the registered voter, or an election official assisting a registered
voter who became a patient, tenant, or resident of a hospital, assisted living program, or health
facility. Election misconduct in the third degree is also applied to a person who makes a false or
untrue statement that an absentee ballot was returned by a prohibited person.
Senate File 413 also requires the SOS Office to issue a fine of up to $10,000 to county
commissioners upon issuance of a technical infraction. A county commissioner who does not
pay a fine that was not dismissed pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 17A is to be suspended from
office for a period not to exceed two years.
The Bill requires the Attorney General and county attorney to investigate allegations of election
misconduct for prosecution under Iowa Code chapter 721 and submit the results to the SOS
Office. The Bill also requires the SOS Office to conduct an audit of counties’ voter registration
maintenance activities in April of each odd-numbered year and submit any audits that identified
failure to perform required voter list maintenance to the Attorney General and county attorney
for investigation.
Other Provisions
Senate File 413 also includes the following changes:
• Establishes provisions regarding persons serving in voting units of conference boards.
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• Prohibits nominations by a nonparty political organization for a person who was nominated
by a political party for the same office in the same election.
• Prohibits nomination papers from being filed on behalf of a candidate if nomination papers
have been filed on behalf of the candidate for the same office and election year.
• Changes the required convention or caucus size for nominees from nonparty political
organizations.
• Makes certain changes to signature requirements for nomination papers and petitions.
• Allows the SOS Office to issue guidance on elections and eliminates home rule power for
county commissioners.
• Requires the SOS Office to verify all voters in the statewide voter registration file annually
and submit a report to the General Assembly regarding the number of registrations
canceled.
• Requires the SOS Office to update voter registration information using the Electronic
Registration Information Center (ERIC).
• Changes the voter registration deadline to 5:00 p.m. 15 days before each election and
requires confirmation notices sent to voters who may have moved to be returned 15 days
before an election.
• Requires voter identification cards to include the times during which polling places will be
open on election days.
• Requires each county commissioner to participate in the United States Postal Service
National Change of Address (NCOA) Program, send a notice to and mark as inactive a voter
who has not participated in the most recent general election and has not reported a change
of address or registered again, and report inactive records annually to the SOS Office.
• Allows oversight of county commissioners by the SOS Office during election periods.
• Requires replacement of individuals on a precinct election board following a party affiliation
change.
• When there is a change to a polling place, requires notices to be mailed to all registered
voters in the precinct and posted in the county commissioner’s office and on the county
commissioner’s Internet site not less than seven days, but not more than 20 days, before
the election.
• Changes polling place closing time to 8:00 p.m. for all elections.
• Until November seventh, 2024, requires the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) to post on its
website the opening and closing times of polling places.
• Prohibits individuals who are standing for election on the ballot from assisting voters in
casting a ballot or from occupying the voting booth with the voter.
• Authorizes law enforcement to take reasonable actions to prevent violation of Iowa Code
chapter 50 (Canvass of Voters).
• Changes from three hours to two hours the amount of time that an employee is entitled to
take off from work in order to vote.
• Changes the number of days prior to an election that any registered voter can apply for an
absentee ballot from 120 days to 70 days.
• Allows county commissioners to send an absentee ballot application to a voter only at the
request of the voter.
• Prohibits absentee ballot applications from being provided with any field prefilled, excluding
the type and date of the election.
• Requires county commissioners to provide necessary information for the SOS Office to
publish daily reports by county on the number of absentee ballot request forms received, the
number of absentee ballots sent, and the number of absentee ballots received, including the
method of delivery.
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• Requires the county commissioner to notify a voter within 24 hours that the absentee ballot
application cannot be processed if the application is received between 5:00 p.m. on the 15th
day before an election and 5:00 p.m. on the seventh day before an election.
• Changes the number of days prior to an election that an absentee ballot can be mailed to a
voter from 29 days to 20 days and prohibits an absentee ballot from being mailed to any
person who did not apply for an absentee ballot.
• Changes the number of days before an election for in-person absentee voting at a county
commissioner’s office and satellite locations from 29 days to 20 days and eliminates the
county commissioners’ ability to establish satellite absentee voting stations at their
discretion.
• Requires absentee ballots to be received by the county commissioners before polls close on
election day with exceptions for uniformed citizens, overseas citizens, and program
participants of the address confidentiality program.
• Limits drop boxes to one per county and establishes guidelines.
• Changes the process for a county commissioner to notify a voter that an absentee ballot is
incomplete.
• Specifies that an affidavit that lacks the voter’s signature is to be considered incomplete.
• Directs counties and special voters precinct boards to record absentee ballot statistics,
including additional tracking requirements, and requires submission to the SOS Office on a
daily basis and following an election.
• Makes certain changes to county elections.
• Until November 7, 2024, requires county treasurers to provide the hours during which polling
places are open on election days to titleholders on statements of taxes due.
The fiscal impact associated with the above provisions of the Bill cannot be estimated at
this time. The fiscal impact discussed below relates only to the added penalties of
election misconduct.
Background
• There are approximately 2.1 million active, registered voters in Iowa. During the 2020
general election, approximately 1.0 million voters cast an absentee ballot. Table 1 provides
additional voting information.
Table 1 — Secretary of State’s Office General Election Turnout Report
General Election Absentee Total Active/Registered % Active Voter Inactive/Registered % Total Voter
Election Day Voters Voters Voters Voters Turnout Voters Turnout
2016 934,219 647,152 1,581,371 2,000,567 79.1% 172,418 72.8%
2018 787,074 547,205 1,334,279 2,011,617 66.3% 156,297 61.6%
2020 698,557 1,001,573 1,700,130 2,094,770 81.2% 148,988 75.8%
NOTE: Numbers of active and inactive voters for 2016 are as of November 8, 2016; 2018 numbers are as of November 6, 2018; and 2020 numbers are as of
November 3, 2020.
• Per Iowa Code chapter 47, the SOS Office is designated as the State commissioner of
elections and Iowa county auditors are designated as the county commissioners of
elections.
• Under current law, most violations of election law under Iowa Code chapters 39 through 53
are prosecuted under Iowa Code chapter 39A. According to the Criminal and Juvenile
Justice Planning Division (CJJP) of the Department of Human Rights, in FY 2019 and
FY 2020, there were five convictions of election misconduct in the first degree and seven
convictions of election misconduct in the third degree.
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• Election misconduct in the first degree is a Class D felony, which is punishable by
confinement for no more than five years and a fine of at least $1,025 but not more than
$10,245.
• Election misconduct in the second degree is an aggravated misdemeanor, which is
punishable by confinement for no more than two years and a fine of at least $855 but not
more than $8,540.
• Election misconduct in the third degree is a serious misdemeanor, which is punishable by
confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least $430 but not more than $2,560.
Assumptions
• The following will not change over the projection period: charge, conviction, and sentencing
patterns and trends, prisoner length of stay (LOS), revocation rates, plea bargaining, and
other criminal justice system policies and practices.
• A lag effect of six months is assumed from the effective date of this Bill to the date of first
entry of affected offenders into the correctional system.
• Marginal costs for county jails cannot be estimated due to a lack of data. For purposes of
this analysis, the marginal cost for county jails is assumed to be $50 per day.
• The Attorney General’s Office anticipates that cases of election misconduct may be referred
to its office instead of county attorneys.
• The Attorney General’s Office may need to hire 1.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) investigator
experienced in election misconduct. If an experienced investigator is hired, the cost could
be up to approximately $117,000. However, the cost of an entry-level attorney position
would be approximately $72,000. For estimation purposes, a midpoint is used for the
estimated cost.
• The Attorney General’s Office currently employs one Assistant Attorney General (AAG) to
support elections and advise the SOS Office in a partial capacity; however, the Attorney
General’s Office may need to have 1.0 AAG FTE position entirely devoted to election
issues.
Correctional Impact
The correctional impact of SF 413 cannot be determined. The Bill establishes new criminal
provisions, and no historical data exists to make a reliable estimate.
Table 2 below shows estimates for sentencing to State prison, parole, probation, or Community-
Based Corrections (CBC) residential facilities; LOS under those supervisions; and supervision
marginal costs per day for all convictions ranging from serious misdemeanors to Class D
felonies. Refer to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) memo addressed to the General
Assembly, Cost Estimates Used for Correctional Impact Statements, dated January 22, 2021,
for information related to the correctional system.
Table 2 — Sentencing Estimates and LOS
Avg Percent Avg FY 20
Length FY 20 Percent Avg Cost Sentenced FY 20 Percent Length of Average
of Stay Marginal Ordered Avg LOS Per Day to CBC Marginal Ordered Stay in Marginal Cost Per
Conviction Percent Prison Cost/Day to on on Residential Cost CBC to County County Cost Avg LOS Day
Offense Class to Prison (months) Prison Probation Probation Probation Facility Per Day Jail Jail Per Day on Parole Parole
Class D Felony
(Non-Persons) 76.0% 11.6 $20.33 64.5% 33.4 $5.38 12.3% $14.78 34.0% N/A $50.00 12.6 $5.38
Aggravated
Misdemeanor
(Non-Persons) 32.0% 11.6 $20.33 69.8% 22.3 $5.38 9.5% $14.78 39.6% N/A $50.00 4.4 $5.38
Serious
Misdemeanor 2.0% 5.0 $20.33 56.0% 13.4 $5.38 1.0% $14.78 69.0% N/A $50.00 2.4 $5.38
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Minority Impact
Of the 12 election misconduct convictions in FY 2019 and FY 2020, 83.3% were committed by
Caucasian offenders and 16.7% were committed by African American offenders. In FY 2020,
Caucasians and African Americans made up 89.9% and 4.1% of the adult population of the
State of Iowa, respectively.
Senate File 413 establishes new criminal provisions to include actions not previously penalized
under Iowa Code chapter 39A. As a result, the CJJP cannot use prior existing data to estimate
the minority impact. Refer to the LSA memo addressed to the General Assembly, Minority
Impact Statement, dated January 27, 2021, for information related to minorities in the criminal
justice system.
Fiscal Impact
Senate File 413 establishes new criminal provisions, and the resulting cost to the justice system
cannot be estimated. Table 3 shows estimates for the average State cost per offense class
type. The estimates include operating costs incurred by the Judicial Branch, the State Public
Defender, and the Department of Corrections (DOC) for one additional conviction. The cost
would be incurred across multiple fiscal years for prison and parole supervision.
Table 3 — Average State Cost Per Offense Class Type
Offense Class Total Minimum Cost Total Maximum Cost
Serious Misdemeanor $410 $7,500
Aggravated Misdemeanor $3,700 $7,800
Class D Felony $7,700 $13,500
The DOC has stated that crimes against professionals are rare and assumes that county
commissioners and election officials are likely to comply with the Bill. It is assumed that county
commissioners will adhere to the new provisions and little revenue will be generated to the
General Fund as a result of technical infraction fines.
For the Attorney General’s Office to hire an investigator at the Investigator 4 position, it would
cost approximately $94,000 annually; there would be approximately $59,000 in additional
annual expenses for an AAG 3 position fully dedicated to elections. These costs include salary
and benefits.
As stated previously, the fiscal impact of the various provisions outlined on pages 1 and 2 of this
Fiscal Note could not be estimated.
Sources
Department of Human Rights, Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning
Department of Corrections
Office of the Attorney General
Secretary of State General Election Voter Turnout Reports
/s/ Holly M. Lyons
June 28, 2021
Doc ID 1219939
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The fiscal note for this Bill was prepared pursuant to Joint Rule 17 and the Iowa Code. Data used in
developing this fiscal note is available from the Fiscal Services Division of the Legislative Services
Agency upon request.
www.legis.iowa.gov
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 39A.2, 39A.4, 49.104, 66.7, 43.20, 44.1, 45.1, 43.112, 47.2, 47.7, 48A.28, 48A.30, 49.77, 49.89, 53.2, 53.1, 69.14, 53.8, 53.17, 53.10, 53.11, 53.17A, 53.33, 53.19, 39.3, 53.22, 53.23, 39A.6, 331.756
Reprinted: 9E.6, 53.18, 48A.41, 39A.4, 49.104, 66.7, 44.4, 43.20, 44.1, 45.1, 47.1, 47.2, 47.7, 48A.9, 48A.10A, 48A.28, 48A.29, 48A.30, 49.23, 49.73, 49.77, 49.90, 49.89, 49.109, 53.2, 53.1, 69.14, 53.8, 53.17, 53.10, 53.11, 53.17A, 53.33, 53.19, 39.3, 53.30, 53.23, 39A.6, 331.756
Enrolled: 9E.6, 53.18, 48A.41, 39A.4, 49.104, 66.7, 44.4, 43.20, 44.1, 45.1, 47.1, 47.2, 47.7, 48A.9, 48A.10A, 48A.28, 48A.29, 48A.30, 49.23, 49.73, 49.77, 49.90, 49.89, 49.109, 53.2, 53.1, 69.14, 53.8, 53.17, 53.10, 5