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HF 2610 – Elections, Voting, Ballots, and Candidates (LSB6288HV)
Staff Contact: Joey Lovan (515.242.5925) joey.lovan@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – New
Description
House File 2610 relates to duties of the office of the Secretary of State (SOS). The Bill is
organized in seven divisions. As only Division IV and Division VI have estimated fiscal impacts,
this Fiscal Note will focus only on those divisions.
Division IV — Absent Voters
Description and Background
This Division eliminates the use of drop boxes for returning an absentee ballot and defines
terms. This Division changes the timeline for a county commissioner of elections to mail an
absentee ballot to no more than 22 days before an election and requires ballots to be received
by 5:00 p.m. and be recorded as received by 11:59 p.m. on the day before an election. This
Division requires a registered voter to subscribe to an affidavit on an affidavit envelope by
signing the envelope and marking the registered voter’s voter verification number. This Division
also updates the contents of an absentee ballot.
Currently, Iowa Code section 53.8 allows county commissioners to mail absentee ballots no
more than 20 days before an election. Iowa Code section 53.17 requires that ballots be
counted if the return envelope is received in the commissioner’s office before polls close on
election day.
Assumptions
• All counties will need to purchase new envelopes as a result of new printing requirements.
• The estimated cost for newly printed envelopes is $0.75 per ballot.
• According to the SOS, approximately 1.1 million absentee ballots were requested for the
2020 general election and approximately 382,000 absentee ballots were requested for the
2022 general election.
• Adding Intelligent Mail barcodes to the new envelopes is estimated to cost $500 per 5,000
envelopes.
• The cost of replacement envelopes and ballots for voters who do not complete the voter
verification field correctly cannot be calculated since the number that will be needed cannot
be estimated.
• Return postage to be paid by the counties as a result of the elimination of drop boxes is
expected to be minimal.
Fiscal Impact
The fiscal impact of the new envelope requirements is dependent on the number of absentee
ballots requested. Assuming the same or similar voter turnout to recent presidential and
midterm elections, the cost increase for new envelope printing is estimated to be approximately
$800,000 for presidential election years and $286,000 for midterm election years.
The fiscal impact of removing ballot drop boxes cannot be estimated.
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Services Division 2
Division VI — Voter Registration Database Pilot Program
Description and Background
This Division creates a voter registration database verification pilot program. This Division
requires the State registrar of voters to contract with a third-party vendor to develop or provide a
program to verify ineligible voters on an ongoing basis. This Division requires the SOS, during
the first quarter of 2025, to use the developed or acquired program to forward the results of the
analysis of the voter registration file to each county commissioner of registration prior to the date
reports are required to be submitted pursuant to Iowa Code section 48A.40. This Division also
requires the State registrar of voters to evaluate the efficacy and costs of the pilot program as
compared to the current method of maintaining the statewide voter registration database. The
newly created Iowa Code section, Iowa Code section 47.7A, is repealed December 31, 2027.
Currently, Iowa Code section 47.7 allows the State registrar to contract with a third-party vendor
to develop or provide a program to verify the status of records in the statewide voter registration
file.
As of February 2024, there are approximately 2.2 million registered voters in the State of Iowa.
Assumptions
• The SOS estimates vendor costs to develop a voter registration database that will be
compared against the current method to be between $0.05 and $0.15 per voter. This may
create a cost between approximately $110,000 and $331,000.
• Additional vendor and staff time to develop and make the comparison file is estimated to be
approximately $25,000.
Fiscal Impact
The fiscal impact of Division VI is estimated to increase expenditures for the SOS by
approximately $135,000 and $356,000 for each year of the two-year pilot program.
Sources
Secretary of State
Iowa State Association of Counties
Legislative Services Agency
/s/ Jennifer Acton
February 28, 2024
Doc ID 1447416
The fiscal note for this Bill was prepared pursuant to Joint Rule 17 and the Iowa Code. Data used in developing this
fiscal note is available from the Fiscal Services Division of the Legislative Services Agency upon request.
www.legis.iowa.gov