# Iowa HF 928: A bill for an act relating to the recounting and contesting of elections, and providing penalties. (Formerly HF 596.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. Iowa HF 928, A bill for an act relating to the recounting and contesting of elections, and providing penalties. (Formerly HF 596.) Effective date: 07/01/2025., is a 91st General Assembly (2025–2026) House bill sponsored by COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT; status signed, last action 2025-06-02 (Signed by Governor.) (as of 2026-10-18). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IA-HF928-2025-2026 - As of: 2026-10-18 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Iowa HF 928 - State: Iowa - Session: 91st General Assembly (2025–2026) - Title: A bill for an act relating to the recounting and contesting of elections, and providing penalties. (Formerly HF 596.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-03-12 - Last action: 2025-06-02, Signed by Governor. - Sponsor: COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 2 (97 yes, 45 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 7 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Iowa audits address election counting problems: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, election commissioners can request administrative audits for suspected equipment or programming problems that may affect results. Reports of precinct counting errors after the official vote review also allow an audit. The special-precinct board conducts the audit, and each p… - Iowa moves official vote review dates: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, county boards officially review election results on the first Tuesday after an election, rather than Monday. Qualifying city and school elections have a second review on the second Tuesday. When a recount is requested, that second review must occur within two business days a… - State can take over Iowa recounts: cost, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, recount boards must follow the Iowa state election commissioner's guidance. The commissioner can halt a recount believed to violate the law, take custody of ballots and equipment, and assign replacement staff. A county commissioner believed to have purposefully violated reco… - Iowa election disputes gain court appeals: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, public-measure contest decisions and final election decisions by a committee can reach the Iowa Supreme Court. State-office contest judgments are also appealable there, rather than finally settling who holds office. A transcript of a state-office judgment keeps the force of… - Iowa recount staffing and counting rules: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, recount boards consist of the election commissioner and staff. Election-day counters assigned to partisan recounts must include equal numbers from each political party. Each requesting candidate and apparent winner can choose and replace up to five observers per county. Reco… - Iowa voters face measure recount requirements: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, public-measure recount petitions must be filed within three days after the official vote review ends. Statewide measures require a margin below 0.15%; other measures require a margin below the smaller of 1% or 50 votes. Statewide petitions go to the state commissioner; other… - New recount rules for Iowa candidates: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, county candidate recounts require a margin below the smaller of 1% or 50 votes. Written requests are due by 5:00 p.m. on the third day after the county canvass; city runoffs allow only one day. Statewide and federal office requests go to the state commissioner by 5:00 p.m. t… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-14 | Senate | Passed Senate | pass | 31 | 14 | | | 2025-03-25 | House | Passed House | pass | 66 | 31 | | ## Actions (17) - 2025-06-02: Signed by Governor. (House) - 2025-05-19: Reported correctly enrolled, signed by Speaker and President, and sent to Governor. (House) - 2025-04-22: Explanation of vote. (House) - 2025-04-15: Message from Senate. (House) - 2025-04-15: Explanation of vote. (House) - 2025-04-14: Immediate message. (Senate) - 2025-04-14: Passed Senate, yeas 31, nays 14. (Senate) - 2025-04-14: Substituted for SF 543. (Senate) - 2025-04-03: Placed on calendar under unfinished business. (Senate) - 2025-03-26: Read first time, attached to SF 543. (Senate) - 2025-03-26: Message from House. (Senate) - 2025-03-25: Immediate message. (House) - 2025-03-25: Passed House, yeas 66, nays 31. (House) - 2025-03-25: Amendment H-1155 adopted, as amended. (House) - 2025-03-25: Amendment H-1172 to amendment H-1155 filed, adopted. (House) - 2025-03-24: Amendment H-1155 filed. (House) - 2025-03-12: Introduced, placed on calendar. (House) ## Bill text - As Introduced: [PDF](https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGI/91/HF928.pdf) - Enrolled: [PDF](https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGE/91/HF928.pdf) ## Related bills - HF 2801: A bill for an act modifying the major economic growth attraction program, and including effective date provisions. (Formerly HSB 785.) Effective date: 10/02/20… (signed) - SF 2472: A bill for an act relating to state and local government taxes, fees, financial authority, and budgets, by modifying property assessment provisions, divisions… (signed) - HF 2601: A bill for an act relating to campaign finance, including participation in ballot issue campaigns by foreign nationals and investigations of election misconduc… (signed) - SF 2471: A bill for an act relating to fees for lifetime fur harvester licenses. (Formerly SF 2317, SSB 3121.) Effective date: 07/01/2026. (signed) - SF 2399: A bill for an act relating to bail and bond amounts and conditions. (Formerly SSB 3162.) Effective date: 07/01/2026. (signed) - SF 2299: A bill for an act relating to the district-to-community college sharing or concurrent enrollment program. (Formerly SF 2176.) Vetoed 6-2-26. (vetoed) ## Sources - [As Introduced (PDF)](https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGI/91/HF928.pdf) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGE/91/HF928.pdf) ## Related - [HF 2801: A bill for an act modifying the major economic growth attraction program, and i…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IA-HF2801-2025-2026) - [SF 2472: A bill for an act relating to state and local government taxes, fees, financial…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IA-SF2472-2025-2026) - [HF 2601: A bill for an act relating to campaign finance, including participation in ball…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IA-HF2601-2025-2026) - [SF 2471: A bill for an act relating to fees for lifetime fur harvester licenses. (Former…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IA-SF2471-2025-2026) - [SF 2399: A bill for an act relating to bail and bond amounts and conditions. (Formerly S…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IA-SF2399-2025-2026) - [SF 2299: A bill for an act relating to the district-to-community college sharing or conc…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IA-SF2299-2025-2026) - [Iowa bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/iowa/bills) - [Iowa state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/iowa) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IA-HF928-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-18).