§ Iowa Code § 49.11Notice of boundaries of precincts — merger or division

49.11 Notice of boundaries of precincts — merger or division.
1. The board of supervisors or the temporary county redistricting commission or city
council shall number or name the precincts established by the supervisors or council
pursuant to sections 49.3, 49.4, and 49.5. The boundaries of the precincts shall be recorded
in the records of the board of supervisors, temporary county redistricting commission, or
city council, as the case may be.
2. The board of supervisors or city council shall publish notice of changes in the county or
city precinct boundaries in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county or city
once each week for three consecutive weeks. The series of publications shall be made after
the changes in the precincts have been approved by the state commissioner of elections. The
last of the three publications shall be made no later than thirty days before the next general
election. A map showing the new boundaries may be used. No publication is necessary if no
changes were made.
3. The precincts established pursuant to section 49.7 shall not be changed except in the
manner provided by law. However, the county commissioner of elections may:
a. Consolidate two or more precincts into one.
(1) However, the commissioner shall not do so if there is filed with the commissioner at
least twenty days before the election a petition signed by twenty-five or more eligible electors
of any precinct requesting that it not be merged with any other precinct. There shall be
attached to the petition the affidavit of an eligible elector of the precinct that the signatures
on the petition are genuine and that all of the signers are to the best of the affiant’s knowledge
and belief eligible electors of the precinct.
(2) If a special election is to be held in which only those registered voters residing in a
specified portion of any established precinct are entitled to vote, that portion of the precinct
may be merged by the commissioner with one or more other established precincts or portions
of established precincts for the special election, and the right to petition against merger of a
precinct shall not apply.
b. (1) Establish voting centers for the regular city election, city primary election, city
runoff election, regular school election, and special elections. Any registered voter who is
eligible to vote in the regular city election may vote at any voting center in the city. Any
registered voter who is eligible to vote at the regular school election may vote at any voting
center in the school district. Any registered voter who is eligible to vote in a special election
may vote at any voting center established for that special election. For purposes of section
48A.7A, a voting center shall be considered the polling place for the precinct in which a person
resides.
(2) The county commissioner of elections shall designate the location of each voting
center to be used in the election.
(3) A voting center designated under this subsection is subject to the requirements of
section 49.21 relating to accessibility to persons who are elderly and persons with disabilities
and relating to the posting of signs. The location of each voting center shall be published by
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Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 49 (55, 2)
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METHOD OF CONDUCTING ELECTIONS, §49.13
the county commissioner of elections in the same manner as the location of polling places is
required to be published.
(4) Pursuant to section 39A.2, subsection 1, paragraph “b”, subparagraph (3), a person
commits the crime of election misconduct in the first degree if the person knowingly votes or
attempts to vote at more than one voting center for the same election.
c. Divide any precinct permanently established under this section which contains all or
any parts of two or more mutually exclusive political subdivisions, either or both of which is
independently electing one or more officers or voting on one or more questions on the same
date, into two or more temporary precincts and designate a polling place for each.
d. Consolidate precincts for any election under any of the following circumstances:
(1) One of the precincts involved consists entirely of dormitories that are closed at the
time the election is held.
(2) The consolidated precincts, if established as a permanent precinct, would meet all
requirements of section 49.3, and a combined total of no more than three hundred fifty voters
voted in the consolidated precincts at the last preceding similar election.
(3) The city council of a special charter city with a population of three thousand five
hundred or less which is divided into council wards requests the commissioner to consolidate
two or more precincts for any election.
4. Notice of changes made pursuant to subsection 3 shall be reported to the state
commissioner at least twenty-five days before the next election in which the temporary
precinct will be active, or, for elections held pursuant to section 69.14 while the general
assembly is in session or within forty-five days of the convening of a session of the general
assembly, at least ten days before election day.
§23; 2019 Acts, ch 148, §26, 33