69.12 Officers elected to fill vacancies — tenure.

When a vacancy occurs in any nonpartisan elective office of a political subdivision of this state, and the statutes governing the office in which the vacancy occurs require that it be filled by election or are silent as to the method of filling the vacancy, it shall be filled pursuant to this section. As used in this section, “pending election” means any election at which there will be on the ballot either the office in which the vacancy exists, or any other office to be filled or any public question to be decided by the voters of the same political subdivision in which the vacancy exists.

1. If the unexpired term in which the vacancy occurs has more than seventy days to run after the date of the next pending election, the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with this subsection. The fact that absentee ballots were distributed or voted before the vacancy occurred or was declared shall not invalidate the election.

a. A vacancy shall be filled at the next pending election if it occurs:

(1) Seventy-four or more days before the election, if it is a general election.

(2) Fifty-two or more days before the election, if it is a regularly scheduled or special city election. However, for those cities which may be required to hold a primary election, the vacancy shall be filled at the next pending election if it occurs seventy-three or more days before a regularly scheduled city election or fifty-nine or more days before a special city election.

(3) Forty-five or more days before the election, if it is a regularly scheduled school election.

(4) Sixty or more days before the election, if it is a special election.

b. Nomination papers on behalf of candidates for a vacant office to be filled pursuant to paragraph “a” of this subsection shall be filed, in the form and manner prescribed by applicable law, by 5:00 p.m. on:

(1) The final filing date for candidates filing with the state commissioner or commissioner, as the case may be, for a general election.

(2) The candidate filing deadline specified in section 376.4 for the regular city election or the filing deadline specified in section 372.13, subsection 2, for a special city election.

(3) The fortieth day before a regularly scheduled school election.

(4) The twenty-fifth day before a special election.

c. A vacancy which occurs at a time when paragraph “a” of this subsection does not permit it to be filled at the next pending election shall be filled by appointment as provided by law until the succeeding pending election.

2. When the unexpired term of office in which the vacancy occurs will expire within seventy days after the date of the next pending election, or after the date of a preceding election in which that office was on the ballot, the person elected to the office for the succeeding term shall also be deemed elected to fill the remainder of the unexpired term. If the vacancy is on a multimember body to which more than one nonincumbent is elected for the succeeding term, the nonincumbent who received the most votes shall be deemed elected to fill the remainder of the unexpired term. A person so elected to fill an unexpired term shall qualify within the time required by sections 63.3 and 63.8. Unless other requirements are imposed by law, qualification for the unexpired term shall also constitute qualification for the full term to which the person was elected.

[C51, §431 – 435; R60, §672, 1083, 1101; C73, §513, 530, 789, 794, 795; C97, §1277, 1278; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §1156, 1157; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, §69.12, 69.13; C73, 75, 77, 79, 81, S81, §69.12; 81 Acts, ch 34, §45]

87 Acts, ch 221, §31; 89 Acts, ch 136, §59 – 61; 2002 Acts, ch 1134, §78, 79, 115; 2008 Acts, ch 1115, §27, 28, 71

Referred to in §69.11, 69.14A, 161A.5, 260C.11, 279.6, 331.322, 347A.1, 358.9, 358C.10, 372.13