53.17 - MAILING OR DELIVERING BALLOT.
53.17 MAILING OR DELIVERING BALLOT.
1. The sealed envelope containing the absentee ballot shall be
enclosed in a return envelope which shall be securely sealed. The
sealed return envelope shall be returned to the commissioner by one
of the following methods:
a. The sealed return envelope may be delivered by the
registered voter, by the voter's designee, or by the special precinct
election officials designated pursuant to section 53.22, subsection
1, to the commissioner's office no later than the time the polls are
closed on election day. However, if delivered by the voter's
designee, the envelope shall be delivered within seventy-two hours of
retrieving it from the voter or before the closing of the polls on
election day, whichever is earlier.
b. The sealed return envelope may be mailed to the
commissioner by the registered voter or by the voter's designee. If
mailed by the voter's designee, the envelope must be mailed within
seventy-two hours of retrieving it from the voter or within time to
be postmarked not later than the day before the election, whichever
is earlier.
2. In order for the ballot to be counted, the return envelope
must be received in the commissioner's office before the polls close
on election day or be clearly postmarked by an officially authorized
postal service not later than the day before the election and
received by the commissioner not later than noon on the Monday
following the election.
3. If the law authorizing the election specifies that the
supervisors canvass the votes earlier than the Monday following the
election, absentee ballots returned through the mail must be received
not later than the time established for the canvass by the board of
supervisors for that election. The commissioner shall contact the
post office serving the commissioner's office at the latest
practicable hour before the canvass by the board of supervisors for
that election, and shall arrange for absentee ballots received in
that post office but not yet delivered to the commissioner's office
to be brought to the commissioner's office before the canvass for
that election by the board of supervisors.
4. When a person designated by the voter retrieves a completed
absentee ballot from the voter, the designee shall, upon request of
the voter, fill out a receipt to be retained by the voter. The state
commissioner shall prescribe a form for receipts required by this
subsection. The receipt shall include all of the following:
a. The name of the voter's designee.
b. The date and time the completed absentee ballot was
received from the voter.
c. The name and date of the election for which the absentee
ballot is being voted.
d. The name of the political party, candidate, or committee
for which the designee is acting as an actual or implied agent, if
applicable.
e. A telephone number at which the voter's designee may be
contacted.
f. A statement that the completed absentee ballot will be
delivered to the commissioner's office within seventy-two hours of
retrieving it from the voter or before the closing of the polls on
election day, whichever is earlier, or that the completed absentee
ballot will be mailed to the commissioner within seventy-two hours of
retrieving it from the voter or within time to be postmarked not
later than the day before the election, whichever is earlier. Section History: Early Form
[SS15, § 1137-g; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 943; C46, 50, 54, 58,
62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 53.17; 81 Acts, ch 34, § 36] Section History: Recent Form
84 Acts, ch 1291, § 17; 87 Acts, ch 221, § 26; 90 Acts, ch 1238,
§29; 94 Acts, ch 1169, §64; 94 Acts, ch 1180, §22; 2004 Acts, ch
1083, §33, 37; 2004 Acts, ch 1175, §361, 362; 2007 Acts, ch 59, §27,
38; 2007 Acts, ch 215, §225--228; 2009 Acts, ch 57, §64
Referred to in § 50.22, 50.24, 53.9, 53.18, 53.44, 53.49, 53.53