Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 721 - Secretary of State › Division II - Elections › Chapter 21 - Election Forms and Instructions › Rule 721-21.300 - Satellite Absentee Voting Stations

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1)
Establishment of stations.
Satellite absentee voting stations
				may be established by a petition of eligible electors of the jurisdiction
				conducting the election.
a.
Satellite
				absentee voting stations established after receipt of a valid
				petition.
A petition requesting a satellite absentee voting station
				shall be substantially in the form titled "Petition Requesting Satellite
				Absentee Voting Station" available on the state commissioner's website. If the
				commissioner receives a petition requesting a satellite absentee voting station
				on or before the petition deadline set forth in Iowa Code section 53.11, the
				commissioner shall determine the validity of the petition within 24 hours. A
				petition requesting a satellite absentee voting station is valid if it contains
				signatures of not less than 100 eligible electors of the county conducting the
				election who are eligible to vote in the election that is the subject of the
				petition. Electors signing the petition must include their signature, house
				number, street, and date the petition was signed. Signatures on lines not
				containing all of the required information shall not be counted. The heading on
				each page of the petition shall include the satellite location requested and
				the election name or date for which the location is requested. Signatures on
				petition pages without the required heading shall not be counted.
b.
Mandatory rejection of certain
				satellite absentee voting stations.
Otherwise valid petitions for
				satellite absentee voting stations shall be rejected within four days of the
				commissioner's receipt of the petition if:
(1)
				The site requested is not accessible to elderly and disabled voters,
(2) The site requested has other physical
				limitations that make it impossible to meet the requirements for ballot
				security and secret voting,
(3) The
				owner of the site refuses permission to locate the satellite absentee voting
				station at the site requested on the petition, unless the site is required to
				serve as a polling place pursuant to Iowa Code section 49.21(2), or
(4) After reasonable efforts, the
				commissioner is unable to sufficiently staff the satellite absentee voting
				station to ensure compliance with the laws of this state.
c.
Discretionary rejection of certain
				satellite absentee voting stations.
Otherwise valid petitions for
				satellite absentee voting stations may be rejected within four days of the
				commissioner's receipt of the petition if:
(1)
				A petition is received requesting satellite voting for a city runoff election
				and a special election is scheduled to be held between the regular city
				election and a city runoff election, or
(2) The owner of the site demands payment for
				its use, unless the site is required to serve as a polling place pursuant to
				Iowa Code section 49.21(2).
d.
Two or more satellite absentee
				voting petitions.
If the commissioner receives valid petitions to
				establish two or more satellite absentee voting stations located within the
				same precinct, the commissioner may choose to establish a satellite absentee
				voting station at only one of the locations.
e.
Provision of ballots.
Only ballots from the county in which the site is located may be provided at
				the satellite absentee voting station. Ballots must be provided for the
				precinct in which the satellite absentee voting station is located; however, it
				is not necessary to provide ballots from all of the precincts in the political
				subdivision for which the election is being conducted.