Iowa Code
Chapter 49 - METHOD OF CONDUCTING ELECTIONS
Section 49.8 - Changes in precincts.

49.8 Changes in precincts.
After any required changes in precinct boundaries have been made following each federal decennial census, at the time established by or pursuant to section 49.7, the county board or city council shall make no further changes in precinct boundaries until after the next federal decennial census, except in the following circumstances:
1. When deemed necessary by the board of supervisors of any county because of a change in the location of the boundaries, dissolution or establishment of any civil township, the boundaries of precincts actually affected may be changed as necessary to conform to the new township boundaries.
2. When territory is annexed to a city the city council may attach all or any part of the annexed territory to any established precinct or precincts which are contiguous to the annexed territory, however this subsection shall not prohibit establishment of one or more new precincts in the annexed territory.
3. A city may have one special federal census taken each decade and the population figures obtained may be used to revise precinct boundaries in accordance with the requirements of sections 49.3 and 49.5.
4. If city population data certified by the United States bureau of the census following the federal decennial census is revised and the revision is certified by the United States bureau of the census, such revisions may be used to revise precinct and ward boundaries in accordance with the requirements of sections 49.3 and 49.5. The board of supervisors shall determine whether such revised population data affects the population equality of supervisor districts. If necessary, the temporary county redistricting commission shall be reconvened, notwithstanding section 331.210A, subsection 4, and supervisor districts shall be revised in accordance with the requirements of section 331.210A, subsection 2.
5. a. When the boundaries of a county supervisor, city council, or school director district, or any other district from which one or more members of any public representative body other than the general assembly are elected by the voters thereof, are changed by annexation or other means other than reprecincting, the change shall not result in the term of any officer elected from the former district being terminated before or extended beyond the expiration of the term to which the officer was last elected, except as provided under section 275.23A and section 331.209, subsection 1. If more than one incumbent officeholder resides in a district redrawn during reprecincting, their terms of office shall expire after the next election in the political subdivision.
b. When a vacancy occurs in the office of county supervisor, city council, or school director following the effective date of new district boundaries, the vacancy shall be filled using the new boundaries.
6. When a city is changing its form of government from one which has council members elected at large to one which has council members elected from wards, or is changing its number of council members elected from wards, the city council may redraw the precinct boundaries in accordance with sections 49.3 and 49.5 to coincide with the new ward boundaries.
7. Precinct boundaries established by or pursuant to section 49.3 or 49.4, and not changed under subsection 1 since the most recent federal decennial census, may be changed once during the period beginning January 1 of the second year following a year in which a federal decennial census is taken and ending June 30 of the year immediately following the year in which the next succeeding federal decennial census is taken, if the commissioner recommends and the board of supervisors finds that the change will effect a substantial savings in election costs. Changes made under this subsection shall be made not later than ninety-nine days before a primary election, unless the changes will not take effect until January 1 of the next even-numbered year.
8. Precinct boundaries established by a city council pursuant to section 49.5 or 49.6 and not changed under subsections 1 through 6 since the most recent federal decennial census, may be redrawn by the city council in accordance with sections 49.3 and 49.5 once during the period beginning January 1 of the second year following a year in which a federal decennial census is taken and ending June 30 of the year immediately following the year in which the next succeeding federal decennial census is taken, if the commissioner recommends that the change will effect a substantial savings in election costs. Changes made under this subsection shall be made not later than ninety-nine days before a city primary or runoff election, unless the changes will not take effect until January 1 of the next odd-numbered year.
9. When territory contiguous to the Indian settlement is added to the Indian settlement land held in trust by the secretary of the interior of the United States.
[C73, §603; C97, §1090; S13, §1090; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §722, 723; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §49.4, 49.5; C75, 77, 79, 81, §49.8]
83 Acts, ch 77, §2; 84 Acts, ch 1052, §1; 89 Acts, ch 136, §34; 94 Acts, ch 1179, §11, 12; 99 Acts, ch 17, §3; 2007 Acts, ch 59, §6, 19; 2008 Acts, ch 1032, §201; 2010 Acts, ch 1026, §2; 2017 Acts, ch 67, §1
Referred to in §275.25, 275.41, 331.383

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