News : Constitutional Amendments on the Ballot for 2024

There's nothing like stepping into the Voting Booth, looking at your ballot and thinking, "Oh crud! What's this???"

This year there will be two Constitutional Amendments on the Iowa 2024 ballot. The first deals with Primary voting requirements for 17-year-olds who will turn 18 by the time of the General Election. The wording for that is below:

Shall the following amendment to the Constitution be adopted?

1

Summary: Provides for only U.S. citizens aged 18 or older and meeting state and county residency requirements to vote in all elections. Further provides that 17-year-olds who will be 18 years old by the General Election are eligible to vote in the primary election, subject to the same citizenship and residency requirements.

Full Text: Section 1 of Article II of the Constitution of the State of Iowa, as amended by the amendment of 1970, is repealed and the following adopted in lieu thereof:

Section 1. Electors. Only a citizen of the United States of the age of eighteen years, who shall have been a resident of this state for such period of time as shall be provided by law and of the county in which the citizen claims the citizen's vote for such period of time as shall be provided by law, shall be entitled to vote at all elections which are authorized by law. However, for purposes of a primary election, a United States citizen must be at least eighteen years of age as of the next general election following the primary election. The required periods of residence shall not exceed six months in this state and sixty days in the county.

Yes or No

The second matter asks voters if the Lieutenant Governor should assume the seat of

2

Summary: Provides that the lieutenant governor will act as the governor if there is a temporary disability of the governor. Further provides that the lieutenant governor or lieutenant governor-elect will be the governor or governor-elect in the case of the resignation, death, or permanent disability of the governor or governor-elect thus creating a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor or lieutenant governor-elect, as appropriate.

Full Text: Section 17 of Article IV of the Constitution of the State of Iowa is repealed and the following adopted in lieu thereof:

Sec. 17. Lieutenant governor or lieutenant governor-elect to become or act as governor or governor-elect. If there is a temporary disability of the governor, the lieutenant governor shall act as governor until the disability is removed, or the governor dies, resigns, or is removed from office. In case of the death, resignation, or removal from office of the governor, the lieutenant governor shall become governor for the remainder of the term, which shall create a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor. This section shall also apply, as appropriate, to the governor-elect and the lieutenant governor-elect.

Yes or No