Bill > HSB281

Introduced Session

H.F. _____ This bill relates to the conduct of elections. The bill is organized in divisions. DIVISION I —— CANDIDATE ELIGIBILITY OBJECTIONS. This division relates to the nomination of candidates for federal office. The bill exempts candidates for federal office from the requirement that a candidate sign a statement that the candidate is aware that the candidate is disqualified from holding office if the candidate has been convicted of a felony or other infamous crime and the candidate’s rights have not been restored by the governor or by the president of the United States. The bill limits objections to the eligibility of a candidate for a federal office that may be filed with the state commissioner of elections to objections to the legal sufficiency of the nomination petition or certificate of election, or to the residency, age, or citizenship requirements as described in the United States Constitution. With respect to nominations for president or vice president of the United States, the bill allows objections only to the legal sufficiency of the certificate of nomination. The certificate of nomination shall be presumed valid. This division of the bill takes effect upon enactment. DIVISION II —— RANKED CHOICE VOTING. This division relates to the use of ranked choice and instant runoff voting for elections in this state. The bill prohibits ranked choice and instant runoff voting, defined in the bill as a system in which voters rank multiple candidates for a single office in order of preference and candidates are eliminated and votes transferred between candidates in a series of rounds, from being used to cast or tabulate ballots in any election in this state. This division of the bill takes effect January 1, 2026. DIVISION III —— PERSONS PERMITTED IN VOTING BOOTHS. This division amends the subsection of Code section 49.88 (limitation on persons in booth and time for voting) prohibiting a person standing for election on the ballot before a voter from occupying the voting booth with the voter and H.F. _____ Code section 49.90 (assisting voter) to say that the candidate violates Code section 49.88 by occupying the voting booth with the voter. This division of the bill takes effect January 1, 2026. DIVISION IV —— VOTER REGISTRATION DATABASE PILOT PROGRAM. This division requires the state registrar of voters to contract with a third-party vendor to develop or provide a program to allow the state registrar to verify the status of records in the statewide voter registration file and identify ineligible voters on an ongoing basis. During the first quarter of 2026, the bill requires the state registrar of voters to utilize the program developed or provided by the third-party vendor to verify the status of records in the statewide voter registration file. The state registrar shall forward the results of the analysis to each county commissioner of registration prior to the date that county commissioners of registration are required to submit voter list maintenance reports. The bill requires the state registrar of voters to evaluate the efficacy and cost of the pilot program as compared to the current method of maintaining the statewide voter registration database. The pilot program is repealed effective December 31, 2028. DIVISION V —— COUNTY HOSPITAL BOARD OF TRUSTEES. This division strikes a provision setting the term length for persons elected to a county hospital board of trustees in a county with a population of at least 400,000 to six years, returning the term length to four years. This division of the bill applies retroactively to persons elected to a county hospital board of trustees on or after January 1, 2024. DIVISION VI —— POLITICAL PARTY —— DEFINITION. Under current law, the definition of “political party” is a party which, at the last preceding general election, cast for its candidate for president of the United States or for governor, as the case may be, at least 2 percent of the total vote cast for all H.F. _____ candidates for that office at that election. This division increases the threshold to at least 10 percent of the total vote cast. DIVISION VII —— NOMINATION FILING DEADLINES. This division changes the filing deadline for candidates nominated by petition or by a nonparty political organization for election at a general election to 5:00 p.m. on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June, the same day on which political parties are required to hold a primary election. DIVISION VIII—— AFFIDAVITS OF CANDIDACY. This division requires that affidavits of candidacy include a statement that the candidate is aware that, by filing the affidavit, the candidate is ineligible to appear on the same ballot for the same office through nomination by another method. DIVISION IX —— VOTER REGISTRATION. This division relates to voter registration file maintenance and the verification of the eligibility of registered voters. The bill specifies that the state registrar of voters may contract with federal and state agencies and private entities for voter registration verification purposes and allows the state registrar to adopt rules regarding the use of federal and state sources of information for voter registration file maintenance. The bill requires the department of transportation to share with the state registrar of voters a list of each person who has submitted documentation indicating that the person is not a citizen of the United States and requires the state registrar of voters to compare the list of registered voters with the noncitizen identification information maintained by the department of transportation. The bill requires a voter registration to be marked as “unconfirmed” if a registrant marks on the voter registration form that the registrant is a noncitizen and also signs the portion of the form affirming that the registrant is a citizen of the United States or if the state registrar of voters or county commissioner of elections receives reliable H.F. _____ information that the registered voter is not a citizen of the United States. The bill requires a voter registration to be changed from unconfirmed to active if the registered voter provides evidence that the registered voter is qualified to vote. The bill adds a statement regarding citizenship status to the declaration of eligibility signed by each voter prior to receiving a ballot. The bill also requires a voter registration to be canceled if the registered voter submits documentation that indicates that the registered voter is not a citizen of the United States or reports to a state or federal agency that the registered voter is not a citizen of the United States. The bill allows a precinct election official to question a person about the person’s citizenship status if the right of the person to vote is challenged at the time the person is offering to vote. The bill requires the special precinct election board to reject provisional ballots that have not been cured by the statutory deadline. DIVISION X —— ELECTION MISCONDUCT. This division assigns responsibility for investigating election misconduct reported to the attorney general to the county sheriff or other law enforcement agency with jurisdiction. Upon completion of the investigation, the bill requires the law enforcement agency to report the results of the investigation to the attorney general, in addition to the state commissioner of elections as required under current law. Information in the possession of or requested by the state commissioner of elections as part of an investigation remains a confidential record.

Committee Categories

No sponsors listed

Other Sponsors (1)

Committee report approving bill, renumbered as HF 954. (on 03/12/2025)

Official Document