47.1 State commissioner of elections.

The secretary of state is designated as the state commissioner of elections and shall supervise the activities of the county commissioners of elections. There is established within the office of the secretary of state a division of elections which shall be under the direction of the state commissioner of elections. The state commissioner of elections may appoint a person to be in charge of the division of elections who shall perform the duties assigned by the state commissioner of elections. The state commissioner of elections shall prescribe uniform election practices and procedures, shall prescribe the necessary forms required for the conduct of elections, shall assign a number to each proposed constitutional amendment and statewide public measure for identification purposes, and shall adopt rules, pursuant to chapter 17A, to carry out this section.

The state commissioner of elections may exercise emergency powers over any election being held in a district in which either a natural or other disaster or extremely inclement weather has occurred. The state commissioner of elections may also exercise emergency powers during an armed conflict involving United States armed forces, or mobilization of those forces, or if an election contest court finds that there were errors in the conduct of an election making it impossible to determine the result.

The secretary of state is designated the chief state election official and is responsible for coordination of state responsibilities under the federal National Voter Registration Act of 1993.

The state commissioner shall adopt rules describing the emergency powers and the situations in which the powers will be exercised.

47.2 County commissioner of elections.

1. The county auditor of each county is designated as the county commissioner of elections in each county. The county commissioner of elections shall conduct voter registration pursuant to chapter 48A and conduct all elections within the county.

2. When an election is to be held as required by law or is called by a political subdivision of the state and the political subdivision is located in more than one county, the county commissioner of elections of the county having the greatest taxable base within the political subdivision shall conduct that election. The county commissioners of elections of the other counties in which the political subdivision is located shall cooperate with the county commissioner of elections who is conducting the election.

3. The commissioner may designate as a deputy county commissioner of elections any officer of a political subdivision who is required by law to accept nomination papers filed by candidates for office in that political subdivision, and when so designated that person shall assist the commissioner in administering elections conducted by the commissioner for that subdivision. The designation of a person as a deputy commissioner of elections pursuant to this section, once made, shall continue in effect until the designation is withdrawn by the commissioner.

4. The commissioner shall assign each local public measure a letter for identification purposes. The public measure on the ballot shall be identified by the letter.

The county commissioner who is responsible under subsection 2 for conducting the elections held for a political subdivision which lies in more than one county shall assign the letter to the public measure. The county commissioners of elections of the other counties in which the political subdivision is located shall not assign the same letter to a local public measure on the ballot in their counties during the same election.

5. The office of county auditor or county commissioner of elections in each county shall be open for at least eight hours on the Saturday preceding a general election, primary election, or special election called by the governor for the purpose of receiving absentee ballots and conducting other official business relating to the election.

6. On the final date for filing nomination papers in the commissioner's office the office shall be open until the time for receiving nomination papers has passed.

47.3 Election expenses.

The costs of conducting a special election called by the governor, general election, and the primary election held prior to the general election shall be paid by the county.

The cost of conducting other elections shall be paid by the political subdivision for which the election is held. The costs shall include, but not be limited to, the printing of the ballots and the election register, publication of notices, printing of declaration of eligibility affidavits, compensation for precinct election boards, canvass materials, and the preparation and installation of voting machines. The county commissioner of elections shall certify to the county board of supervisors a statement of cost for an election. The cost shall be assessed by the county board of supervisors against the political subdivision for which the election was held.

Costs of registration and administrative and clerical costs shall not be charged as a part of the election costs.

If voting machines are used in any election, the county commissioner of elections shall not charge any political subdivision of the state a rental fee for the use of any voting machines.

The cost of maintenance of voter registration records and of preparation of election registers and any other voter registration lists required by the commissioner in the discharge of the duties of that office shall be paid by the county. Administrative and clerical costs, incurred by the registrar in discharging the duties of that office shall be paid by the state.

47.4 Election filing deadlines.

If the deadline for a filing pertaining to an election falls on a day that the state or county commissioner's office is closed for business, the deadline shall be extended to the next day that the office of state commissioner or county commissioner is open for business to receive the filing. This section does not apply to the deadline for voter registration under section 48A.9, subsection 2.

47.5 Purchasing by competitive bidding.

1. Except for legal services and printing of ballots, the commissioner shall take bids for goods and services which are needed in connection with registration of voters or preparation for or administration of elections and which will be performed or provided by persons who are not employees of the commissioner under the following circumstances:

a. In any case where it is proposed to purchase data processing services. The commissioner shall give the registrar written notice in advance on each occasion when it is proposed to have data processing services, necessary in connection with the administration of elections, performed by any person other than the registrar or an employee of the county. Such notice shall be made at least thirty days prior to publication of the specifications.

b. In all other cases, where the cost of the goods or services to be purchased will exceed one thousand dollars.

2. When it is proposed to purchase any goods or services, other than data processing services, in connection with administration of elections, the commissioner shall publish notice to bidders, including specifications regarding the goods or services to be purchased or a description of the nature and object of the services to be retained, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county not less than fifteen days before the final date for submission of bids. When competitive bidding procedures are used, the purchase of goods or services shall be made from the lowest responsible bidder which meets the specifications or description of the services needed or the commissioner may reject all bids and readvertise. In determining the lowest responsible bidder, various factors may be considered, including but not limited to the past performance of the bidder relative to quality of product or service, the past experience of the purchaser in relation to the product or service, the relative quality of products or services, the proposed terms of delivery and the best interest of the county.

3. The procedure for purchasing data processing services in connection with administration of elections is the same as prescribed in subsection 2, except that the required copy of the bid specifications shall be filed with the registrar rather than the state commissioner. The specifications for data processing contracts relative to voter registration records shall be specified by the registration commission. The registrar shall, not later than the final date for submission of bids, inform the commissioner in writing whether the department of general services data processing facilities are currently capable of furnishing the services the county proposes to purchase, and if so the cost to the county of so obtaining the services as determined in accordance with the standard charges adopted by the registration commission. The commissioner, with approval of the board of supervisors, may reject all bids and enter into an arrangement with the registrar for the services to be furnished by the state. The commissioner may recommend and the board of supervisors may approve purchasing the needed services from the lowest responsible bidder; however, if the needed services could be obtained through the registrar at a lower cost, the board shall publish notice twice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county of its intent to accept such bid and of the difference in the amount of the bid and the cost of purchasing the needed services from the department of general services data processing facilities through the registrar. Each contract for the furnishing of data processing services necessary in connection with the administration of elections, by any person other than the registrar or an employee of the county, shall be executed with the contractor by the board of supervisors of the county purchasing the services, but only after the contract has been reviewed and approved by the registration commission. The contract shall be of not more than one year's duration. Each county exercising the option to purchase such data processing services from a provider other than the registrar shall provide the registrar, at the county's expense, original and updated voter registration lists in a form and at times prescribed by rules adopted by the registration commission.

4. Any election or registration data or records which may be in the possession of a contractor shall remain the property of the commissioner. Contracts with a private person relating to the maintenance and use of voter registration data, which were properly entered into in compliance with this section and with all other laws relating to bidding on such contracts, shall remain in force only until the most recently negotiated termination date of that contract. A new contract with the same provider may be entered into in accordance with subsection 3.

47.6 Election dates--conflicts--public measures.

If the proposed date of the special election coincides with the date of a regularly scheduled election or previously scheduled special election, the notice shall be given no later than five p.m. on the last day on which nomination papers may be filed with the commissioner for the regularly scheduled election or previously scheduled special election, but in no case shall notice be less than thirty-two days before the election. Otherwise, the notice shall be given at least thirty-two days in advance of the date of the proposed special election. Upon receiving the notice, the commissioner shall promptly give written approval of the proposed date unless it appears that the special election, if held on that date, would conflict with a regular election or with another special election previously scheduled for that date.

2. For the purpose of this section, a conflict between two elections exists only when one of the elections would require use of precinct boundaries which differ from those to be used for the other election, or when some but not all of the registered voters of any precinct would be entitled to vote in one of the elections and all of the registered voters of the same precinct would be entitled to vote in the other election. Nothing in this subsection shall deny a commissioner discretionary authority to approve holding a special election on the same date as another election, even though the two elections may be defined as being in conflict, if the commissioner concludes that to do so will cause no undue difficulties.

47.7 State registrar of voters.

1. The state commissioner of elections is designated the state registrar of voters, and shall regulate the preparation, preservation, and maintenance of voter registration records, the preparation of precinct election registers for all elections administered by the commissioner of any county, and the preparation of other data on voter registration and participation in elections which is requested and purchased at actual cost of preparation and production by a political party or any resident of this state. The registrar shall maintain a log, which is a public record, showing all lists and reports which have been requested or generated or which are capable of being generated by existing programs of the data processing services of the registrar. In the execution of the duties provided by this chapter, the state registrar of voters shall provide the maximum public access to the electoral process permitted by law.

2. The registrar shall offer to each county in the state the opportunity to arrange for performance of all functions referred to in subsection 1 by the data processing facilities of the registrar, commencing at the earliest practicable time, at a cost to the county determined in accordance with the standard charges for those services adopted annually by the registration commission. A county may accept this offer without taking bids under section 47.5.

3. Any county may use its own data processing facilities for voter registration record keeping and utilization functions, if the system design and the form in which the registration records are kept conform to specifications established by rules promulgated by the registration commission. Each county exercising the option to maintain its own voter registration records under this subsection shall provide the registrar, at the county's expense, original and updated voter registration lists in a form and at times prescribed by the registrar.

4. Not later than July 1, 1984, information listed in section 48A.11 contained in a county's manual records but not on the county's computer readable records shall be provided to the registrar in a form specified by the registrar. The registrar shall require that any information supplied under section 48A.11, except the signature and attestation of the registrant, be provided to the registrar in a form specified by the registrar.

47.8 Voter registration commission--composition--duties.

1. A state voter registration commission is established which shall meet at least quarterly to make and review policy, adopt rules, and establish procedures to be followed by the registrar in discharging the duties of that office, and to promote interagency cooperation and planning. The commission shall consist of the state commissioner of elections or the state commissioner's designee, the state chairpersons of the two political parties whose candidates for president of the United States or governor, as the case may be, received the greatest and next greatest number of votes in the most recent general election, or their respective designees, and a county commissioner of registration appointed by the president of the Iowa state association of county auditors, or an employee of the commissioner. The commission membership shall be balanced by political party affiliation pursuant to section 69.16. Members shall serve without additional salary or reimbursement.

The state commissioner of elections, or the state commissioner's designee, shall serve as chairperson of the state voter registration commission.

2. The registration commission shall prescribe the forms required for voter registration by rules promulgated pursuant to chapter 17A.

3. The registrar shall provide staff services to the commission and shall make available to it all information relative to the activities of the registrar's office in connection with voter registration policy which may be requested by any commission member. The registrar shall also provide to the commission at no charge statistical reports for planning and analyzing voter registration services in the state.

The commission may authorize the registrar to employ such additional staff personnel as it deems necessary to permit the duties of the registrar's office to be adequately and promptly discharged. Such personnel shall be employed pursuant to chapter 19A.

4. The registration commission shall annually adopt a set of standard charges to be made for the services the registrar is required to offer to the several commissioners, and for furnishing of voter registration records which are requested by persons other than the registrar, the state commissioner or any commissioner pursuant to section 48A.38. These charges shall be sufficient to reimburse the state for the actual cost of furnishing such services or information, and shall be specified by unit wherever possible. The standard charges shall be adopted by the commission by January 15 of each calendar year.