(2) at county voting places. These two
methods of conducting referendums are mutually exclusive. The secretary shall
approve that balloting procedure which shall best effectuate the policies and
purposes of the referendum to be voted upon.
(1)
Mail ballot procedures.
a. The secretary may designate such person(s)
as are necessary to administer the mail ballot procedure.
b. The official referendum date shall be
established by the secretary, and shall be the last date on which Cornpleted
balloting materials may be postmarked for receipt by the department.
c. The department shall announce referendum
procedures and producer qualification information by means of publication of
legal notice in at least five Iowa newspapers of general circulation at least
30 days prior to the referendum date.
d. At least 15 days prior to the referendum
date, the department shall mail balloting materials to producers, using the
best list reasonably available to the secretary.
e. All ballots shall be the responsibility of
the secretary, who shall establish a time and place for counting of
ballots.
f. To maintain vote
anonymity, the department shall provide for return of the ballot in a sealed
envelope, unless otherwise indicated in the notice. Producer eligibility may be
certified prior to the referendum date; however, votes shall not be counted
until the referendum date has passed.
g. If the referendum passes, all expenses
incurred by the department in conducting the referendum shall be paid from the
fund created by passage.
If the referendum fails, the producer association which
petitions for an initial referendum (or for a subsequent referendum if one
fails to pass) shall be liable for all costs and expenses incurred by the
department in conducting the referendum.
h. All ballots, tabulation forms and producer
statements shall be retained by the department for a minimum of six months
following the referendum date.
(2)
County voting place
procedures.
a. The secretary shall
designate an official voting place(s) in each county. An eligible producer may
vote in any Iowa county, when county voting places are in use, with the
exception of producers voting in a referendum under Iowa Code chapters 185 and
185C. Said producers may vote only in a county in the crop reporting district
in which they reside. The counties within each crop reporting district are as
follows:
CROP REPORTING DISTRICT NO. 1
| Buena Vista |
Emmett |
Palo Alto |
| Cherokee |
Lyon |
Plymouth |
| Clay |
O'Brien |
Pocahontas |
| Dickinson |
Osceola CROP REPORTING DISTRICT NO. 2 |
Sioux |
| Butler |
Hancock |
Winnebago |
| Cerro Gordo |
Humboldt |
Worth |
| Floyd |
Kossuth |
Wright |
| Franklin |
Mitchell CROP REPORTING DISTRICT NO. 3 |
| Allamakee |
Chickasaw |
Fayette |
| Black Hawk |
Clayton |
Howard |
| Bremer |
Delaware |
Winneshiek |
| Buchanan |
Dubuque CROP REPORTING DISTRICT NO. 4 |
| Audubon |
Greene |
Monona |
| Calhoun |
Guthrie |
Sac |
| Carroll |
Harrison |
Shelby |
| Crawford |
Ida CROP REPORTING DISTRICT NO. 5 |
Woodbury |
| Boone |
Hardin |
Poweshiek |
| Dallas |
Jasper |
Story |
| Grundy |
Marshall |
Tama |
| Hamilton |
Polk CROP REPORTING DISTRICT NO. 6 |
Webster |
| Benton |
Jackson |
Linn |
| Cedar |
Johnson |
Muscatine |
| Clinton |
Jones |
Scott |
| Iowa |
CROP REPORTING DISTRICT NO. 7 |
| Adair |
Fremont |
Page |
| Adams |
Mills |
Pottawattamie |
| Cass |
Montgomery CROP REPORTING DISTRICT NO. 8 |
Taylor |
| Appanoose |
Madison |
Union |
| Clarke |
Marion |
Warren |
| Decatur |
Monroe |
Wayne |
| Lucas |
Ringgold CROP REPORTING DISTRICT NO. 9 |
| Davis |
Keokuk |
Van Buren |
| Des Moines |
Lee |
Wapello |
| Henry |
Louisa |
Washington |
| Jeflferson |
Mahaska |
b. The
secretary shall establish the hours for voting and a time period, up to a
maximum of three days, for voting in the referendum. If voting takes place on
more than one date, the official referendum date shall be the last day on which
voting is allowable.
c. The
department shall announce referendum procedures, producer qualification
information and location of voting places by means of publication of legal
notice in at least five Iowa newspapers of general circulation at least 30 days
prior to the referendum date.
d.
After signing a producer statement furnished by the department, each producer
shall receive a ballot. Each marked ballot shall be placed in a sealed ballot
box during the voting period.
e.
The election judge shall have the following responsibilities in conducting the
referendum:
(1) The election judge shall
secure an appropriate ballot box which shall be kept sealed during the voting
period.
(2) The election judge
shall distribute voting materials and instructions, assist in the balloting
process, observe the deposit of ballots in the sealed box, and be responsible
for maintaining the integrity and security of the ballots.
(3) The election judge shall, after voting
has been Cornpleted and the voting place closed, count the ballots and
telephone, fax or E-mail the tentative tabulation to the office of the
secretary.
(4) The election judge
shall return the ballots, along with the original "producer statements" and the
"Certification of Judges and Official Vote Tabulation", to the department
within 24 hours following the closing of the voting place. All ballots not used
shall be destroyed by the election judge.
f. The secretary shall review the tabulation
of votes and producer statements received from county election judges. If the
number of signed producer statements is greater than the number of ballots
cast, the number of ballots shall stand as the official vote total for the
county. If the number of ballots cast exceeds the number of signed producer
statements, then the following reduction procedure shall be used:
| Reduce Votes |
Reduce Votes |
| Excess Ballots |
On Prevailing Side |
On Losing Side |
| 1 |
1 |
0 |
| 2 |
1 |
1 |
| 3 |
2 |
1 |
| 4 |
2 |
2 |
| 5 |
3 |
2 |
| 6 |
3 |
3 |
| 7 |
4 |
3 |
| 8 |
4 |
4 |
| 9 |
5 |
4 |
| 10 |
5 |
5 |
If the vote is tied, each side will be reduced by 1/2 vote
for each excess ballot
g.
If the referendum passes, all expenses incurred by the department in conducting
the referendum shall be paid from the fund created by passage.
If the referendum fails, the producer association which
petitions for an initial referendum (or for a subsequent referendum if one
fails to pass) shall be liable for all costs and expenses incurred by the
department in conducting the referendum.
h. All ballots, tabulation forms and producer
statements shall be retained by the department for a minimum of six months
following the referendum date.
(3)
Absentee ballot
procedures. When the referendum method is by designated county voting
place, any qualified producer may receive an absentee ballot from the
department upon request. The ballot and signed producer statement must be
returned to the secretary postmarked no later than midnight of the official
referendum date. The secretary shall maintain a list of those producers to whom
absentee ballots have been provided and shall provide a list of same to all
voting sites in the county of residence of the producer.
If the producer could not be at home in time to utilize an
absentee ballot mailed from the secretary, and if the regular balloting
materials have been received by the county extension office, the county
extension director may sign a ballot and provide this to the producer, upon the
producers signing a producers certification statement. The Cornpleted ballot
will be placed in a separate sealed envelope. This ballot envelope and the
signed producers certification statement will be placed in an envelope and
returned to the office of the secretary for counting.
