53.10 Absentee voting at the commissioner’s office.
1. Not more than twenty days before the date of the primary election or the general election, the commissioner shall provide facilities for absentee voting in person at the commissioner’s office. This service shall also be provided for other elections as soon as the ballots are ready, but in no case shall absentee ballots be available under this section more than twenty days before an election.
2. a. Each person who wishes to vote by absentee ballot at the commissioner’s office shall first sign an application for a ballot including the following information: name, current address, voter verification number, and the election for which the ballot is requested. The person may report a change of address or other information on the person’s voter registration record at that time. Prior to furnishing a ballot, the commissioner shall verify the person’s identity as provided in section 49.78. The registered voter shall immediately mark the ballot; enclose the ballot in a secrecy envelope, if necessary, and seal it in the envelope marked with the affidavit; subscribe to the affidavit on the reverse side of the envelope; and return the absentee ballot to the commissioner. The commissioner shall record the numbers appearing on the application and affidavit envelope along with the name of the registered voter.
b. For purposes of this subsection, “voter verification number” means the registered voter’s driver’s license number or nonoperator’s identification card number assigned to the voter by the department of transportation or the registered voter’s identification number assigned to the voter by the state commissioner pursuant to section 47.7, subsection 2.
3. A voter shall not vote or offer to vote any ballot except such as the voter has received from the commissioner. A voter voting an absentee ballot at the commissioner’s office shall not take or remove any ballot from the commissioner’s office.
4. During the hours when absentee ballots are available in the office of the commissioner, the absentee voting site is a polling place for purposes of section 39A.4, subsection 1, paragraph “a”.
2002 Acts, ch 1134, §63, 115; 2005 Acts, ch 72, §1; 2007 Acts, ch 215, §224; 2008 Acts, ch 1191, §114; 2014 Acts, ch 1101, §17, 32; 2016 Acts, ch 1121, §5; 2017 Acts, ch 110, §8, 52, 54; 2018 Acts, ch 1149, §10, 12; 2020 Acts, ch 1121, §126; 2021 Acts, ch 12, §50, 73
Referred to in §49.63, 53.2, 53.7, 53.8, 53.11, 53.17, 53.22, 53.42, 53.49, 68A.406
Subsection 1 amended
Structure Iowa Code
Title II - ELECTIONS AND OFFICIAL DUTIES
Section 53.1 - Right to vote — conditions.
Section 53.2 - Application for ballot.
Section 53.3 - Requirements for certain absentee ballot applications — prescribed form — receipt.
Section 53.4 - Absentee ballots — reports.
Section 53.7 - Solicitation by public employees.
Section 53.9 - Prohibited persons.
Section 53.10 - Absentee voting at the commissioner’s office.
Section 53.11 - Satellite absentee voting stations.
Section 53.12 - Duty of commissioner.
Section 53.13 - Voter’s affidavit on envelope.
Section 53.14 - Party affiliation.
Section 53.15 - Marking ballot.
Section 53.16 - Subscribing to affidavit.
Section 53.17 - Mailing or delivering ballot.
Section 53.17A - Absentee ballot tracking.
Section 53.19 - Listing absentee ballots.
Section 53.20 - Special precinct established.
Section 53.21 - Replacement of lost or spoiled absentee ballots.
Section 53.22 - Balloting by confined persons.
Section 53.23 - Special precinct election board.
Section 53.24 - Counties using voting machines.
Section 53.25 - Rejecting ballot.
Section 53.26 - Rejected ballots — how handled.
Section 53.27 - Rejection of ballot — return of envelope.
Section 53.30 - Ballots, ballot envelopes, and other information preserved.
Section 53.32 - Ballot of deceased voter.
Section 53.33 - Unlawful return of ballot.
Section 53.34 - False affidavit.
Section 53.35 - Refusal to return ballot.
Section 53.35A - Failure to return ballot.
Section 53.36 - Offenses by officers.
Section 53.37A - State commissioner duties.
Section 53.38 - What constitutes registration.
Section 53.39 - Request for ballot — when available.
Section 53.40 - Request requirements — transmission of ballot.
Section 53.41 - Records by commissioner — excess requests or ballots.
Section 53.42 - Voting in person in commissioner’s office.
Section 53.43 - Identification on envelope.
Section 53.44 - Affidavit to be signed and returned.
Section 53.45 - Special absentee ballot.
Section 53.46 - Powers and duties of state commissioner.
Section 53.47 - Materials furnished by department of administrative services.
Section 53.48 - Postage on ballots.
Section 53.49 - Applicable to armed forces and other citizens.
Section 53.50 - Appropriation.
Section 53.51 - Rule of construction.