49.11 Notice of boundaries of precincts — merger or division.

1. The board of supervisors or the temporary county redistricting commission or city council shall number or name the precincts established by the supervisors or council pursuant to sections 49.3, 49.4, and 49.5. The boundaries of the precincts shall be recorded in the records of the board of supervisors, temporary county redistricting commission, or city council, as the case may be.

2. The board of supervisors or city council shall publish notice of changes in the county or city precinct boundaries in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county or city once each week for three consecutive weeks. The series of publications shall be made after the changes in the precincts have been approved by the state commissioner of elections. The last of the three publications shall be made no later than thirty days before the next general election. A map showing the new boundaries may be used. No publication is necessary if no changes were made.

3. The precincts established pursuant to section 49.7 shall not be changed except in the manner provided by law. However, the county commissioner of elections may:

a. Consolidate two or more precincts into one.

(1) However, the commissioner shall not do so if there is filed with the commissioner at least twenty days before the election a petition signed by twenty-five or more eligible electors of any precinct requesting that it not be merged with any other precinct. There shall be attached to the petition the affidavit of an eligible elector of the precinct that the signatures on the petition are genuine and that all of the signers are to the best of the affiant’s knowledge and belief eligible electors of the precinct.

(2) If a special election is to be held in which only those registered voters residing in a specified portion of any established precinct are entitled to vote, that portion of the precinct may be merged by the commissioner with one or more other established precincts or portions of established precincts for the special election, and the right to petition against merger of a precinct shall not apply.

b. (1) Establish voting centers for the regular city election, city primary election, city runoff election, regular school election, and special elections. Any registered voter who is eligible to vote in the regular city election may vote at any voting center in the city. Any registered voter who is eligible to vote at the regular school election may vote at any voting center in the school district. Any registered voter who is eligible to vote in a special election may vote at any voting center established for that special election. For purposes of section 48A.7A, a voting center shall be considered the polling place for the precinct in which a person resides.

(2) The county commissioner of elections shall designate the location of each voting center to be used in the election.

(3) A voting center designated under this subsection is subject to the requirements of section 49.21 relating to accessibility to persons who are elderly and persons with disabilities and relating to the posting of signs. The location of each voting center shall be published by the county commissioner of elections in the same manner as the location of polling places is required to be published.

(4) Pursuant to section 39A.2, subsection 1, paragraph “b”, subparagraph (3), a person commits the crime of election misconduct in the first degree if the person knowingly votes or attempts to vote at more than one voting center for the same election.

c. Divide any precinct permanently established under this section which contains all or any parts of two or more mutually exclusive political subdivisions, either or both of which is independently electing one or more officers or voting on one or more questions on the same date, into two or more temporary precincts and designate a polling place for each.

d. Consolidate precincts for any election under any of the following circumstances:

(1) One of the precincts involved consists entirely of dormitories that are closed at the time the election is held.

(2) The consolidated precincts, if established as a permanent precinct, would meet all requirements of section 49.3, and a combined total of no more than three hundred fifty voters voted in the consolidated precincts at the last preceding similar election.

(3) The city council of a special charter city with a population of three thousand five hundred or less which is divided into council wards requests the commissioner to consolidate two or more precincts for any election.

[C73, §604; C97, §1092, 2755; S13, §2755; C24, §729, 4205; C27, §729, 4205, 4216-b2; C31, 35, §729, 4216-c5; C39, §729, 4216.05; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §49.11, 277.5; C75, 77, 79, 81, §49.11; 81 Acts, ch 34, §24]

93 Acts, ch 143, §16; 94 Acts, ch 1169, §64; 94 Acts, ch 1179, §13; 94 Acts, ch 1180, §12; 2008 Acts, ch 1032, §149; 2008 Acts, ch 1115, §23; 2017 Acts, ch 67, §2, 3; 2018 Acts, ch 1026, §23

Referred to in §49.9, 49.10, 49.13, 49.16, 331.383

Subsection 3, paragraph d, unnumbered paragraph 1 amended