§ Iowa Code § 48A.26Acknowledgment of registration form

48A.26 Acknowledgment of registration form.
1. a. Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs “b” and “c” of this subsection, or section
48A.26A, within seven working days of receipt of a voter registration form or change of
information in a voter registration record the commissioner shall send an acknowledgment
to the registrant at the mailing address shown on the registration form. The acknowledgment
shall be sent by nonforwardable mail.
b. For a voter registration form or change of information in a voter registration record
submitted at a precinct caucus, the commissioner shall send an acknowledgment within
forty-five days of receipt of the form or change of information.
c. For a voter registration form or change of information in a voter registration record
submitted within fourteen days of a regularly scheduled election, the commissioner shall send
an acknowledgment within forty-eight hours of receipt of the form or change of information.
2. If the registration form appears on its face to be complete and proper, the
acknowledgment shall state that the registrant is now a registered voter of the county. The
acknowledgment shall also specify the name of the precinct and the usual polling place for
the precinct in which the person is now registered. The acknowledgment may include the
political party affiliation most recently recorded by the registrant.
3. If the registration form is missing required information pursuant to section 48A.11,
subsection 8, the acknowledgment shall advise the applicant what additional information is
required. The commissioner shall enclose a new registration form for the applicant to use.
If the registration form has no address, the commissioner shall make a reasonable effort to
determine where the acknowledgment should be sent. If the incomplete registration form
is received during the period in which registration is closed pursuant to section 48A.9 but
by 5:00 p.m. on the Saturday before the election for general elections or by 5:00 p.m. on
the Friday before the election for all other elections, the commissioner shall send a notice
advising the applicant of election day and in-person absentee registration procedures under
section 48A.7A.
4. If the registrant applied by mail to register to vote and did not answer either “yes” or
“no” to the first question in section 48A.11, subsection 3, the application shall be processed. If
the application is complete and proper in all other respects and information on the application
is verified, as required by section 48A.25A, the applicant shall be registered to vote and sent
an acknowledgment.
5. If the registrant applied by mail to register to vote and answered “no” to the first
question in section 48A.11, subsection 3, the application shall not be processed. The
acknowledgment shall advise the applicant that the registration has been rejected because
the applicant indicated on the registration form that the applicant is not a citizen of the
United States.
6. If the acknowledgment is returned as undeliverable by the United States postal service,
the commissioner shall follow the procedure described in section 48A.29, subsection 1.
7. If a registrant has not supplied enough information on a registration form for the
commissioner to determine the correct precinct and other districts, the commissioner shall
obtain the information as quickly as possible either from the registrant or other sources
available to the commissioner.
8. An improperly addressed or delivered registration form shall be forwarded to the
appropriate county commissioner of registration within two working days after it is received
by any other official. The date of registration shall be the date the registration form was
received by the first official. If the registration form was postmarked fifteen or more days
before an election and the registration form was received by the first official after the close
of registration, the registration form shall be considered on time for the election.
9. When a person who is at least seventeen years of age but less than eighteen years
of age registers to vote, the commissioner shall maintain a record of the registration so as
Tue Dec 09 22:31:06 2025
Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 48A (50, 1)
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VOTER REGISTRATION, §48A.27
to clearly indicate that it will not take effect until the registrant’s eighteenth birthday and
that the person is registered and qualifies to vote at any election held on or after that date.
However, the commissioner shall indicate that the person is registered and qualifies to vote
at the pending primary election if the person will be at least eighteen years of age on the date
of the respective general election or city election.
1115, §79; 2009 Acts, ch 57, §17; 2014 Acts, ch 1101, §13, 32; 2016 Acts, ch 1073, §16; 2017
Acts, ch 110, §59, 64; 2019 Acts, ch 148, §25, 33