§ Iowa Code § 53.23Special precinct election board

53.23 Special precinct election board.
1. The election board of the absentee ballot and special voters precinct shall be appointed
by the commissioner in the manner prescribed by sections 49.12 and 49.13, except that the
number of precinct election officials appointed to the board shall be sufficient to complete
the counting of absentee ballots by 10:00 p.m. on election day.
2. The board’s powers and duties shall be the same as those provided in chapter 50 for
precinct election officials in regular precinct polling places. However, the election board
of the special precinct shall receive from the commissioner and count all absentee ballots
for all precincts in the county; when two or more political subdivisions in the county hold
elections simultaneously the special precinct election board shall count absentee ballots cast
in all of the elections so held. The tally list shall be recorded on forms prescribed by the state
commissioner.
3. a. The commissioner shall set a convening time for the board of no later than 9:00
a.m. on election day, allowing a reasonable amount of time to complete counting all absentee
ballots by 10:00 p.m. on election day.
b. (1) The commissioner may direct the board to meet on the day before the election for
the purpose of reviewing the absentee voters’ affidavits appearing on the sealed envelopes.
If in the commissioner’s judgment this procedure is necessary due to the number of absentee
ballots received, the members of the board may open the sealed affidavit envelopes and
remove the secrecy envelope containing the ballot, but under no circumstances shall a
secrecy envelope or a return envelope marked with an affidavit be opened before the board
convenes on election day, except as provided in paragraph “c”. If the affidavit envelopes are
opened before election day pursuant to this paragraph “b”, the observers appointed by each
political party, as defined in section 43.2, shall witness the proceedings. Each political party
may appoint up to five observers under this paragraph “b”. The observers shall be appointed
by the county chairperson or, if the county chairperson fails to make an appointment, by the
state chairperson. However, if either or both political parties fail to appoint an observer, the
commissioner may continue with the proceedings.
(2) If the board finds any ballot not enclosed in a secrecy envelope and the ballot is
folded in such a way that any of the votes cast on the ballot are visible, the two special
precinct election officials, one from each of the two political parties referred to in section
49.13, subsection 2, shall place the ballot in a secrecy envelope. No one shall examine the
ballot, except as provided in paragraph “c”.
c. The commissioner may convene the special precinct election board on the day before
the election to begin counting absentee ballots. However, if in the preceding general election
the counting of absentee ballots was not completed by 10:00 p.m. on election day, the
commissioner shall convene the special precinct election board on the day before the next
general election to begin counting absentee ballots. The board shall not release the results
of its tabulation pursuant to this paragraph until the count is completed on election day.
4. The room where members of the special precinct election board are engaged in
counting absentee ballots on the day before the election pursuant to subsection 3, paragraph
“c”, or during the hours the polls are open shall be policed so as to prevent any person other
than those whose presence is authorized by this subsection from obtaining information
about the progress of the count. The only persons who may be admitted to that room are
the members of the board, five challengers representing each political party, one observer
representing any nonparty political organization or any candidate nominated by petition
Tue Dec 09 22:30:56 2025
Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 53 (53, 1)
§53.23, ABSENT VOTERS
18
pursuant to chapter 45 or any other nonpartisan candidate in a city or school election
appearing on the ballot of the election in progress, one observer representing persons
supporting a public measure appearing on the ballot and one observer representing persons
opposed to such measure, and the commissioner or the commissioner’s designee. It shall
be unlawful for any of these persons to communicate or attempt to communicate, directly
or indirectly, information regarding the progress of the count at any time while the board is
convened pursuant to subsection 3, paragraph “c”, or at any time before the polls are closed.
5. The special precinct election board shall preserve the secrecy of all absentee and
provisional ballots. After the affidavits on the envelopes have been reviewed and the
qualifications of the persons casting the ballots have been determined, those that have been
accepted for counting shall be opened. The ballots shall be removed from the affidavit
envelopes or return envelopes marked with the affidavit, as applicable, without being
unfolded or examined, and then shall be thoroughly intermingled, after which they shall
be unfolded and tabulated. If secrecy folders or envelopes are used with provisional paper
ballots, the ballots shall be removed from the secrecy folders after the ballots have been
intermingled.
6. The special precinct election board shall not release the results of its tabulation on
election day until all of the ballots it is required to count on that day have been counted, nor
release the tabulation of provisional ballots accepted and counted under chapter 50 until that
count has been completed.
[SS15, §1137-j; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §949; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §53.23]
Acts, ch 19, §23; 2007 Acts, ch 59, §29, 38; 2007 Acts, ch 215, §232; 2008 Acts, ch 1115, §104;
12, §63, 73; 2025 Acts, ch 123, §16
Subsection 3, paragraph a amended