Iowa Code » Chapter 49 — METHOD OF CONDUCTING ELECTIONS
Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 49.98 (2026)

Counting ballots

✓ current as of July 2026
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The ballots shall be counted according to the voters’ marks on them as provided in sections 49.92 and 49.93, and not otherwise. If, for any reason, it is impossible to determine from a ballot, as marked, the choice of the voter for any office, the vote for that office shall not be counted. A ballot shall be rejected if the voter used a mark to identify the voter’s ballot. The state commissioner shall, by rule adopted pursuant to chapter 17A, develop uniform definitions of what constitutes a vote. [C97, §1120; S13, §1120; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §815; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §49.98] 97 Acts, ch 170, §52; 2004 Acts, ch 1083, §21, 37; 2017 Acts, ch 110, §49

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases, 1978–2007 · leading case: Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000).
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Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000). · cites it 2× “10, § 5/7-51 (1993) (standard for primaries), § 5/17-16 (standard for general elections); Iowa Code § 49.98 (1999); Me. Rev. Stat. Ann.”
Devine v. Wonderlich, 268 N.W.2d 620 (Iowa 1978). · cites it 2× “First is the proscription of § 49.98 against marking a ballot in any manner for the purpose of identifying it.”
Taylor v. Cent. City Cmty. Sch. Dist., 733 N.W.2d 655 (Iowa 2007). · cites it 14× “1083, § 37 (codified at Iowa Code § 49.98 (2005)) (removing the phrase "[a]ny ballot shall be rejected if it is marked in any other manner than authorized in sections 49.”
Raymond Taylor, Keith Comley, & Vivian Edgerton Vs. Cent. City Cmty. Sch. Dist. (Iowa 2007). · cites it 14× “1083, § 37 (codified at Iowa Code § 49.98 (2005)) (removing the phrase “[a]ny ballot shall be rejected if it is marked in any other manner than authorized in sections 49.”
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