Iowa Code § 50.24 — IA Code / Title II / Chapter 50 / Section 50.24
Canvass by board of supervisors.
Status: in_force

(1) The county board of supervisors shall meet to canvass the vote on the first Tuesday after the day of each election to which this chapter is applicable, unless the law authorizing the election specifies another date for the canvass. If that Tuesday is a public holiday, section 4.1, subsection 34, controls.

(2) Upon convening, the board shall open and canvass the tally lists and shall prepare abstracts stating the number of votes cast in the county, or in that portion of the county in which the election was held, for each office and on each question on the ballot for the election. The board shall contact the chairperson of the special precinct board before adjourning and include in the canvass any write-in votes tallied and recorded by the special precinct board or any absentee ballots which were received after the polls closed in accordance with section 53.17 and which were canvassed by the special precinct board after election day. The abstract shall further indicate the name of each person who received votes for each office on the ballot, and the number of votes each person named received for that office, and the number of votes for and against each question submitted to the voters at the election. The votes of all write-in candidates who each received less than five percent of the votes cast for an office or who each received fewer than ten votes and was not determined to be elected shall be reported collectively under the heading “scattering”.

(3) The board shall certify an election canvass summary report prepared by the commissioner. The election canvass summary report shall include the results of the election, including scatterings, overvotes, and undervotes, by precinct for each contest and public measure that appeared on the ballot of the election being canvassed. However, if paper ballots are used pursuant to section 49.26, the election canvass summary report shall not include overvotes and undervotes.

(4) For a regular or special city election or a city runoff election, if the city is located in more than one county, the controlling commissioner for that city under section 47.2 shall conduct a second canvass on the second Tuesday after the day of the election. However, if a recount is requested pursuant to section 50.48, the controlling commissioner shall conduct the second canvass within two business days after the conclusion of the recount proceedings. Each commissioner conducting a canvass for the city pursuant to subsection 1 shall transmit abstracts for the offices and public measures of that city to the controlling commissioner for that city, along with individual tallies for each write-in candidate. At the second canvass, the county board of supervisors of the county of the controlling commissioner shall canvass the abstracts received pursuant to this subsection and shall prepare a combined city abstract stating the number of votes cast in the city for each office and on each question on the ballot for the city election. The combined city abstract shall further indicate the name of each person who received votes for each office on the ballot, the number of votes each person named received for that office, and the number of votes for and against each question submitted to the voters at the election. The votes of all write-in candidates who each received less than five percent of the total votes cast in the city for an office shall be reported collectively under the heading “scattering”.

(5) (a) For a regular or special school election, if the school district is located in more than one county, the controlling commissioner for that school district under section 47.2 shall conduct a second canvass on the second Tuesday after the day of election. However, if a recount is requested pursuant to section 50.48, the controlling commissioner shall conduct the second canvass within two business days after the conclusion of the recount proceedings. Each commissioner conducting a canvass for the school district pursuant to subsection 1 shall transmit abstracts for the offices and public measures of that school district to the controlling commissioner for that school district, along with individual tallies for each write-in candidate. At the second canvass the county board of supervisors of the controlling county shall canvass the abstracts received pursuant to this subsection and shall prepare a combined school district abstract stating the number of votes cast in the school district for each office and on each question on the ballot for the school election. The combined school district abstract shall further indicate the name of each person who received votes for each office on the ballot, the number of votes each person named received for that office, and the number of votes for and against each question submitted to the voters at the election. The votes of all write-in candidates who each received less than five percent of the total votes cast in the school district for an office shall be reported collectively under the heading “scattering”.

(5) (b) The second canvass of votes for a merged area shall be conducted pursuant to section 260C.15, subsection 5, and each commissioner conducting a canvass for the merged area pursuant to subsection 1 shall transmit abstracts for the offices and public measures of that school district to the controlling commissioner for that merged area, along with individual tallies for each write-in candidate.

(6) Any obvious clerical errors in the tally lists from the precincts shall be corrected by the supervisors. Complete records of any changes shall be recorded in the minutes of the canvass.

[C51, §271, 304, 305; R60, §335, 506, 538, 539, 1131; C73, §502, 503, 631, 635, 662; C97, §1146, 1149; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §859, 860, 863; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §50.20, 50.21, 50.24; C75, 77, 79, 81, §50.24]84 Acts, ch 1291, §10; 89 Acts, ch 136, §49; 90 Acts, ch 1238, §26; 93 Acts, ch 143, §22; 95 Acts, ch 189, §10; 2009 Acts, ch 57, §40; 2010 Acts, ch 1033, §25, 26; 2015 Acts, ch 85, §2; 2017 Acts, ch 155, §28, 44; 2021 Acts, ch 147, §37, 54; 2025 Acts, ch 122, §5, 6