Iowa polls would close earlier in statewide elections under Senate bill [View all]

From the Cedar Rapids Gazette

DES MOINES — The polls would close an hour earlier for some Iowa elections, and public universities and other state-owned buildings could not serve as satellite voting locations under legislation being considered by state lawmakers.

Sen. Roby Smith, R-Davenport, said the goal of the bill, Senate Study Bill 1241, is to strengthen state election laws to ensure Iowa elections are “safe and fair.”

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Among the bill’s provisions:
• Polls would close for all Iowa elections at 8 p.m. Currently, polls remain open for statewide elections until 9 p.m., and for some local elections the polls close at 8 p.m.;
• State-owned buildings, with the exception of county courthouses, could not serve as satellite voting locations.
• Absentee ballots would be required to be received by the auditor by Election Day. Current law allows absentee ballots to be received and counted so long as they were postmarked by the day before Election Day.
• Elections officials would be required to verify signatures on absentee ballots.
• College students would be given a form that would ask whether they plan to live in or outside Iowa upon graduation, and those who indicate they plan to live outside Iowa would be removed from the voter registration list.
• When a local entity asks voters for permission to issue bonds, ballots would be required to include information on potential increases in property taxes.

“We are making sure that elections are fair,” Smith said. “It’s the checks and balances that come with living in a constitutional republic that we have.”