Iowa senators consider proposal for primary runoff elections

DES MOINES - Senators expressed interest Thursday in revisiting an Iowa election law that allows delegates to political party conventions to decide a nominee for public office in instances where there is an inconclusive primary in which no candidate received at least 35 percent of the popular vote.

However, there was not consensus on how to change it to best reflect the will of the people.

A Senate subcommittee voted 2-1 to advance a bill proposing to scrap the current system and going to a runoff election between the top vote-getters to decide the winner of a contested primary at the federal, state or local levels.

Senate File 10 was offered by Sen. Brad Zaun, an Urbandale Republican who finished first in a five-way GOP congressional primary election last spring but lost the nomination at convention to now 3rd District Congressman David Young. Zaun's bill seeks to change current election law to establish that the top two vote-getters in a primary election that produces an inconclusive result face each other in a runoff election in four weeks to decide who wins their political party's nomination.

Under current Iowa law, an inconclusive primary occurs when no candidate receives at least 35 percent of the vote in the primary election need to land the party's nomination for the November general election. For candidates seeking statewide offices, congressional offices or legislative seats, the party's nomination goes to convention, where delegates choose a general-election candidate.

Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, chairman of the Senate State Government Committee, which likely will consider the bill next week, said the issue has been around the legislative process for a while, but that last year's 3rd District GOP primary outcome was a 'focusing event” that brought it back to the forefront. He called the bill 'necessary” as a way to ensure public participation and legitimacy from 'start to finish” in the democratic and open election process.

'I see it as a democracy bill,” said Danielson, who noted that the western half of Iowa is represented by two congressmen who got their start via the convention-nominating process to decide primaries where no one met the 35 percent vote threshold. He said cost and timing issues may have to be addressed as the bill moves forward.

'I think there's a sense that our process could be more democratic and if, we offer a thoughtful solution to that, then I think we stand a good chance of getting something passed and to the governor's desk,” Danielson said.

Subcommittee member Sen. Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, said he supported the proposed change, but Sen. Tod Bowman, D-Maquoketa, did not sign off on the runoff approach, saying he instead favored doing away with the 35 percent threshold so whoever received the most votes among the competing candidates won the primary.

'Why 35 percent? Why do we need a runoff? Why do we need a convention? People voted. Let's have a plurality,” said Bowman, a high school government teacher who noted he has had numerous discussions with his students on this topic.

'The person who got the most votes should win the election,” he said. In the case of the 2014 GOP primary in Iowa's 3rd congressional district, Bowman noted that 'Sen. Zaun had the plurality. He would have won the nomination. Why have taxpayers pay for another election and I certainly don't like the convention process. I think there's a consensus among most Iowans that the convention process is a bad process.”