2009 Iowa Code
Title 2 - Elections and Official Duties
Subtitle 1 - Elections
CHAPTER 49 - METHOD OF CONDUCTING ELECTIONS
49.57 - METHOD AND STYLE OF PRINTING BALLOTS.

        49.57  METHOD AND STYLE OF PRINTING BALLOTS.
         Ballots shall be prepared as follows:
         1.  They shall be on paper uniform in color, through which the
      printing or writing cannot be read.
         2.  In the area of the general election ballot for straight party
      voting, the party or organization names shall be printed in upper
      case and lower case letters using a uniform font size for each
      political party or nonparty political organization.  The font size
      shall be not less than twelve point type.  After the name of each
      candidate for a partisan office the name of the candidate's political
      party shall be printed in at least six point type.  The names of
      political parties and nonparty political organizations may be
      abbreviated on the remainder of the ballot if both the full name and
      the abbreviation appear in the "Straight Party" and "Other Political
      Party" areas of the ballot.
         3.  The names of candidates shall be printed in upper case and
      lower case letters using a uniform font size throughout the ballot.
      The font size shall be not less than ten point type.
         4.  In no case shall the font size for public measures,
      constitutional amendments, and constitutional convention questions,
      and summaries thereof, be less than ten point type.
         5.  On ballots that will be counted by automatic tabulating
      equipment, ballots shall include a voting target next to the name of
      each candidate.  The position, shape, and size of the targets shall
      be appropriate for the equipment to be used in counting the votes.
      Where paper ballots are used, a square may be printed at the
      beginning of each line in which the name of a candidate is printed,
      except as otherwise provided.
         6.  A portion of the ballot shall include the words "Official
      ballot", the unique identification number or name assigned by the
      commissioner to the ballot style, the date of the election, and a
      facsimile of the signature of the commissioner who has caused the
      ballot to be printed pursuant to section 49.51.
         7.  The office title of any office which appears on the ballot to
      fill a vacancy before the end of the usual term of the office shall
      include the words "To Fill Vacancy".  

         Section History: Early Form

         [C97, § 1109; S13, § 1109; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 775; C46,
      50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 49.57] 

         Section History: Recent Form

         97 Acts, ch 170, § 44; 2002 Acts, ch 1134, §34, 115; 2007 Acts, ch
      59, §8--10, 19; 2009 Acts, ch 57, §31
         Referred to in § 43.31, 49.57A
         Single voting target for certain paired offices, § 49.33
         Signature in primary elections, § 43.36